A Broken Doll
by SiriuslyHooked
Summary: Never judge a book by its cover. Hidden behind Beca Pierce's warm smile and sparkling blue eyes are deeply buried secrets. Living like a bird in a cage, the night of the explosion changes everything, leading her to meet Barry and the STAR Labs team. New friends means a second chance but someone else may have more sinister plans: to entice her into a darkness with no escape.
1. New to Central City

"For the tenth time, it is against policy to register for classes this late. Perhaps if you showed up a week or two after classes started, I could have made an exception but it is now early December," chided the elderly woman behind the glossy oak desk, peering over her thick, round glasses.

Most people hoped to achieve greatness in life, to become a somebody before time was up and they were just another tombstone with some generic, uplifting message. That greatness was subjective, whether it was finding the cure for some dreadful disease or becoming the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. No matter how much they claimed to despise being the center of attention, a small part of them would readily admit that they enjoyed the spotlight. It was not unheard of to think that humans were naturally selfish beings who believed themselves to be the most important species on the planet. Beca Pierce had the opposite problem. She wished to become invisible, to be nothing more than a face in the crowd. Being a tiny speck in the vast universe sounded like paradise to her and her desire is what led to this exact moment: arguing with the secretary in the registrar's office at Central City University.

With her thick glasses and a face that resembled a mastiff, it was a wonder that the secretary was able to read papers or even type on a computer, though the font size was large enough to be seen from outer space. The conversation had taken a turn for the worse from the beginning when Beca hurried into the office without knocking first. Her appearance also did her no favors with the prudish woman who looked like she belonged in the setting of a Jane Austen novel rather than the twenty first century. From the minute she accidentally collided with the desk, she felt the secretary's shrewd eyes judging her ripped leggings, her nose stud, and her cropped denim jacket that was stained with dirt in the back. The elderly secretary refused to allow her late entry into classes at the university, despite Beca's excuse that she recently moved to the city. Her suggestion was for Beca to transfer to the university in the spring.

"I can't wait that long. I need—"

"Need what?"

"I just need to be enrolled now. Can you please make an exception this one time? I won't take no for an answer. I'll sit in this office all day until you say yes and before you think that security can keep me out, believe me that I will find a way back in here. I can tell that you're busy so if you want to get back to typing on that dinosaur of a computer, then just give me the papers I need. It's that simple."

"If it gets you out of my hair, then fine. Children these days…irresponsible and never appreciating a thing. I'll at least need your transcripts to put you into the system."

Beca scratched the back of her ear. "Right. This is a funny story. I don't exactly have—"

She jumped as the secretary slammed her hand down on the desk. "No transcripts yet you except me to put you in classes this late into the semester!"

Reaching into her tattered leather purse, she offered to show her ID. The secretary's pale face was slowly turning a blotchy red and for a moment, Beca thought she was going to climb over the desk and tear off her head. Beginning to resemble a shaken soda bottle about to explode, her lips were pursed together so tightly that they practically vanished from her face. Beca sighed with relief when the door swung open, saving her from the explosion. A middle-aged man, dressed in a crisp black suit, walked into the office, skimming through a manila folder. The tiny wrinkles around his eyes showed his age but did not detract from his handsome features.

"Agnes, I was hoping to—oh, is there a problem?" he asked, noticing the heavy tension in the office.

The secretary patted down the frizz in her white hair. "Dr. Barnett, I apologize for the mess. This young lady refuses to leave the office after I specifically told her that we cannot allow transfers this late into the semester," she explained, speaking in a much nicer tone.

"Actually, she is why I came to the office."

Introducing Beca as his niece, he explained that she was recently moved to Central City after a terrible tragedy involving her parents and he was her only remaining family. Agnes's demeanor changed considerably as she listened to his sob story. She looked at him as if he was a dashing knight in shining armor and Beca was his damsel in distress.

"I offered to let her stay in my home but you know how kids are at this age. They want independence and all that. I have her transcripts right here."

He placed the folder on the desk and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, squeezing a little too tightly. "My niece, full of energy but so forgetful sometimes. Didn't I tell you to wait for me before you came here?"

Beca avoided his gaze, staring at her sneakers. "Like you said, I forgot. I didn't mean to cause any trouble, D—Uncle Damien."

"I've written down the classes to enroll her in for this semester and the next. Her courses at her old college are very similar to the ones here so she'll have no trouble with taking any finals. That is why she took so long to enroll. I wanted her to take a few weeks to recuperate after her loss."

Agnes smiled. "Understandable. Seems she's following in her brilliant uncle's footsteps. This will only take a moment."

A moment appeared to be elderly speak for a long, agonizing twenty minutes as Agnes spent most of the time, squinting at the bright screen. Damien made idle chitchat with her about some rumors spreading around campus, regarding the dean's retirement. Agnes vehemently denied the rumor though when she mentioned the dean, there was a hint of melancholy in her voice. She handed a class schedule and a copy of the student handbook, subtly referring to the dress code guidelines on page ten.

"I've already got her room assignment. Thank you for your help, Agnes."

Brushing his thumb in small circles on her shoulder, he led her out of the office. His grip tightened on her shoulder as they turned the corner and waited for the elevator.

"Did I not tell you to wait for me?" he asked, sternly.

"I—I just…I didn't think—"

"Clearly, you didn't."

"I'm sorry," she said, shutting her eyes.

She was taken aback by him cupping her cheek, expecting a far worse reaction. He chuckled quietly to himself.

"I can't stay mad at that face. Next time, listen to me. I'm only looking out for you, Beca. Without me, you'd have nowhere to go."

"I know."

"Why don't we stop at the house for—"

"Actually, I uh just want to go to the apartment. I think I should get to know the campus too so it's not really obvious that I'm new. That's okay, right?"

"Of course."

Damien dropped her off at her apartment building, which was very close to the campus, reminding her to call him if she found herself in any trouble. Every inch of her apartment, from the living room to the bedroom, was already lavishly decorated and a note left on the kitchen counter tipped her off that Damien was the secret decorator. She was uncomfortable with some things, finding them to be more his style than hers. Digging through her purse, she placed a partially broken picture frame inside the top drawer of the dresser, burying it underneath the clothes. The picture in the frame was of a young woman hugging an eight year old girl.

Beca stepped out onto the balcony and leaned against the railing. She was not used to living in such a big city or listening to all the different sounds, from children playing in the streets to cars honking their horns. On the side of a nearby building, the billboards kept changing to reflect a new advertisement. The largest billboard showed a picture of a building, along with the words: _Don't miss the special event at STAR Labs. A once in a lifetime opportunity._ Hearing her stomach growl, she decided to find someplace to eat, giving her a chance to explore the city. She left the apartment building with her purse, significantly lighter, slung over her shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a brown station wagon parked directly across from the building.

"It's nothing," she muttered as she crossed the street.

She repeatedly apologized for bumping into people in the massive crowd though they did not extend the same courtesy, merely nodding their heads, continuing on in silence, or responding with a vulgar comment. Hoping to avoid a man who followed her for nearly three blocks to get her number, she slipped inside _Big Belly Burger,_ a fast food restaurant. She waited at the end of the long line, standing on her toes to read the menu. Her eyes wandered around the restaurant, first resting on a man and woman, dressed in police uniforms, eating in a booth and then a heavyset behind the counter. His pale yellow button down shirt barely stretched over his wide belly. She was puzzled by the annoyed expression on his face, directed towards her. Every so often, her eyes drifted over to the two cops and she anxiously tapped her fingers against her purse.

"You might want to take off the hat before you're kicked out," she heard.

Turning around, she was face to face with a boy not much older than her with boyish features, well-coiffed dark brown hair, and green eyes. He pointed towards the man behind the counter, informing her that the manager banned hats from inside the restaurant. Blushing, she removed her knitted hat and threw it in her purse.

"It's weird, I know. I never really could figure out why he doesn't like hats."

"Thanks for telling me. I've never been in here before so I didn't know about that rule."

"Oh, are you uh new to Central City?"

She nodded. "Just finished transferring to Central City University. The old lady at the registrar's office took forever. I'm Beca."

"Agnes is still there, huh? Yea, she hated me. I was always late to register for classes and—I'm uh Barry, by the way…Barry Allen."

He moved his hand from his coat pocket, holding a bag of what looked like animal droppings. Following her gaze, it was his turn to blush and he quickly stuffed the bag back into his pocket. She stifled a laugh as he awkwardly tried to explain his reasons for having the bag, undoubtedly making the situation even more embarrassing.

"It's not my—not that you'd think it was mine. That would be weird, right? Yea, of course it would. I collected a sample from outside the bank. It's part of what I do for—not that I always…it's not a hobby of mine. It's my job. I'm the uh CSI for CCPD. Please stop me before I make this a lot more awkward and trust me, I could."

"I can see that. Did the criminal do…that as a distraction or something?"

Barry grinned. "No, I'm pretty sure it's animal but I have to check back at my lab. I was just getting something to eat before I run the tests. Hopefully, I can finish the tests in time to get to STAR Labs."

"I saw a billboard outside my apartment. What's the big deal?"

STAR Labs was apparently a very big deal to him. He began to ramble on and on about the lab's achievements in science thanks to Harrison Wells, the man in charge, the particle accelerator being turned on later that night, and how the accelerator would open the doors to how they viewed the world and lead to all kinds of new information about the universe. Judging by the excitement in his voice, he loved science and Beca wished she could share his enthusiasm but most of the scientific words he was using made no sense. She settled for a kind smile, nodding her head after every few words.

"I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"A little but I don't mind. It's nice listening to you talk. Usually, I'm—I haven't had a lot of people to talk to lately."

"You should definitely come tonight. It'll be awesome and practically everyone will be there. I could introduce you to my friend Iris. She could tell you everything you need to know about Central City and help you meet people that are more your crowd."

"My crowd?" she asked, curiously.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I just meant—not that I was saying…there I go with the rambling. Forget I said that. Let's start the entire conversation over. Hi, I'm Barry."

"Next," said the girl behind the cash register.

After ordering a cheeseburger, fries, and a soda, Beca waved goodbye to Barry and wished him luck on his case. The station wagon was parked in the same spot, right across the entrance to her apartment building. She jumped when she felt a buzzing sensation in her jacket pocket. Taking out her phone, she tapped the screen to read the message but the screen only showed the pale blue background. She read the instructions flashing, _slide to unlock_ , and tilted her phone sideways before moving her finger along the bottom of the screen. A message popped up, giving her an address for eight o'clock and mentioning a surprise present. Biting her lip, she stashed the phone back in her pocket and walked up to her apartment. Outside her door was a gift box wrapped in golden paper. Tucking the box under her arm, holding the soda, and chewing three fries at once, she used her other hand to unlock the door.

The box fell to the floor with a soft _thump_ when she noticed Damien sitting on the couch in the living room, flipping through a newspaper. She quickly swallowed the fries in her mouth but was not fast enough to hide the _Big Belly Burger_ bag sticking out of her purse.

"Surprised to see me? Did you honestly think I wouldn't have a spare key for myself? Give me the bag, Beca."

Not bothering to argue, she handed him the soda and the bag with her fries and uneaten burger. A soft whimper escaped her lips as he threw both into the trash can.

"You know I don't approve of you eating that trash."

"It was just a burger. I haven't had one since—for a…really long time," she replied, her voice faltering as he turned towards her.

"You'll never have one as long as you're under my care. I had a meal prepared for you. Eat then get dressed. We need to get to STAR Labs by seven."

In the kitchen, she heated up a plate of 'rabbit food' in the microwave. Damien prohibited her from eating any food he deemed unhealthy and the meals he had prepared usually consisted of various vegetables and barely a handful of brown rice. She imagined herself eating a cheeseburger as she chewed a piece of cauliflower. Once she finished her dinner, she walked into her bedroom to change her outfit and around seven o'clock, Damien drove the two of them to STAR Labs, an enormous building in the middle of the city that looked like it was plucked from a science fiction movie. The sidewalk was packed with excited patrons waiting for the doors to open and news vans were parked along the street, with reporters' voices overlapping as they spoke about the event. Among those waiting on the sidewalk were passionate protestors, holding signs with slogans like _Central Citizens Against STAR Labs._

Keeping his hand on the small of her back, Damien steered her towards the buff security guard standing in front of the door. The guard allowed them into the building after Damien handed him a fancy invitation written in golden, cursive letters. Being a renowned physicist gave him the perk of attending a pre-event party, attended by the best and brightest of Central City. She found herself in awe once they were inside but restrained herself from the touching the tiniest thing, fearing that it could cause an explosion. In the center of the room, a giant video screen was assembled behind a stage. Several video screens were placed along the walls, flashing images of the STAR Labs logo, interior shots of the lab, and a dark-haired, bespectacled man. She was snapped out of her daze when Damien handed her a glass of champagne.

"Do you have a lab like this?" she asked, taking a small sip.

"No. My work is mainly done at the university. Not every scientist needs this much space. In the years I've known him, Harrison has always been a bit ostentatious"

"If I recall, you called my lab impressive when it was first built," said an amused voice behind them.

The same man that repeatedly flashed across the video screens walked towards them, greeting Damien with a firm handshake. Damien had never mentioned STAR Labs or Dr. Wells before but they seemed to be more than just acquaintances.

"It is impressive but it doesn't mean you're not a showoff."

Wells chuckled. "Fair point. I didn't realize you were bringing a date tonight."

If possible, Beca's pale face, which Damien often compared to porcelain, felt like it turned chalk white. In the back of her mind, she understood his confusion, considering that she was dressed differently from the other guests. While they were all dressed warm for the frigid winter weather, in their jeans, boots, and heavy coats, she was wearing black heels and a matching peacoat and besides the different attire, she and Damien did not resemble each other, not even in an obscure way. It did not go unnoticed by her that for the briefest second, Wells's eyes rested on her long, lean legs.

"Not a date. This is Beca, my niece. She just moved to Central City a couple weeks ago and since everyone is coming out to see your little show, I thought she'd enjoy it as well."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Beca. I'm Harrison Wells."

"The guy on the screens," she replied, pointing at the screen behind her.

He grinned. "Very observant. How are you enjoying the city so far?"

"Well, I haven't had that much time to explore yet but I've heard so much about it from my uncle that I feel like I know everything."

"And do you share his interest in physics?"

"Not sure yet. I mean, I don't know much science beyond stuff I learned in third grade—" Damien's fingers dug into her waist. "You know, busy with afterschool sports and clubs and my mom caring more about me being a cheerleader than doing well in school. I'll uh see what happens when I take my classes at the university. Maybe I'll be really good at it and make my own lab and my own…particle accelerator," she said, taking a quick glimpse at the words on the screen.

"Perhaps you will. I assure you that tonight will be very special…unlike anything you've ever seen."

"I haven't seen much so that won't be hard."

Beca held back a groan of pain, hiding it behind a sweet smile. Damien's hand moved from her waist to her shoulder and he excused them from the conversation, claiming that he needed to speak with a fellow professor about the upcoming finals. He led her deep into the crowd, not saying a word until they were out of Wells's sight.

"What was that?" he hissed.

"I—I was just…I'm sorry. I don't think he noticed anything strange. P—please don't be angry with me."

"You need to be more careful. I think it's best that we keep you away from the champagne."

He snatched the glass from her. "But you always let me drink before…I need some for tonight."

"Consider it your punishment for your foolish mouth. Let's be cautious. Don't speak at all. Just look pretty, smile, and nod."

"Y—" she started before giving him a silent nod.

It was easy to follow Damien's orders since she barely understood what was being discussed between him and his colleagues. There were so many big words being thrown back and forth that it felt like her earlier conversation with Barry times a thousand. She felt both relief and dread when her phone vibrated, the screen flashing _8:00_. Pretending to feel sick, she told Damien that she was returning to her apartment to get some rest. He promised to visit her after the event and she headed towards the front door, wishing that he let her drink some champagne.

"Leaving so soon, Miss Pierce?"

Her head whipped around at the mention of her last name. Wells was standing beside a nearby table, holding a half empty glass.

"How did you know…I never told you my last name."

"No, but a very loose-lipped old woman from the university let it slip. Apparently, you gave her quite an attitude this afternoon. She's not the only one talking about you. Seems we're both popular tonight."

"W—why would anyone be talking about…about me? I don't even know anyone here."

"Forgive me, but you do stand out. I suppose listening to your uncle schmooze half of the city is very boring...enough that you're willing to miss such a special event."

"It's not that. I think I ate something bad at dinner. I'm just going to take a cab back to my apartment. I uh hope that your accelerator thing goes well."

"Oh, I have no doubt that it will. Feel better."

As she left the building, squeezing past a handful of people eagerly running past her, she was startled by a loud _honk._ A sleek black sports car was parked on the sidewalk. Her eyes darted around her surroundings, hoping that at least one person was watching her, but everyone else on the street was only concerned with getting inside STAR Labs. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards the car and tapped on the passenger window three times. The window rolled down, revealing a boy around her age. With his disheveled sandy brown hair and worn leather jacket, he did not look like someone who could afford such an expensive car and for a moment, she wondered if he stole it to give off a better impression. She held her breath, overwhelmed by the heavy odor of cigarette smoke. The ash tray in his car was filled to the brim with cigarette butts and empty candy wrappers.

The boy smirked and she took it as a sign to get into the car. Whenever she went on these 'dates', she usually chose a nickname for them, knowing that she rarely learned their actual names. She decided on calling him Menthols for the night.

"I was worried you'd be one of those girls who has a hot profile pic but is actually ugly. Can't say I'm disappointed."

Even from a distance, she could smell the musty scent of cigarettes on his breath. Driving towards the nearest liquor store, he bragged about owning the best tech companies in Central City, sensing that she noticed the disconnect between his appearance and the expensive car. He claimed that he was nothing like the other, in his words, 'rich fat cats' but Beca thought despite his unique style, they had a lot in common, including a penchant for boasting about their wealth. She feigned interest as he bragged about traveling to Japan for a business meeting, most of her attention on his hand traveling higher and higher beneath her coat.

As she waited for him to return from the liquor store, she retrieved four small blue pills from her coat pocket and swallowed them one at a time. The effects were not immediate but after several minutes, she felt relaxed and numb. A bright light flashed in her eyes, nearly blinding her. Hearing a tapping sound, she rolled down the window, a shiny police badge shoved in her face. The man holding the badge was not much older than her 'date', looking more like a model than a cop.

"Can I help you, officer?"

He lowered the flashlight. "Didn't mean to startle you, miss. I was just checking to make sure you're alright."

"I—I'm fine. I was um—"

"Is there a problem?" she heard.

Menthols left the liquor store, carrying a six pack of beer. There was a slight tension between him and the cop, who was eyeing him suspiciously.

"Oh, you're that new detective. Thorne, right?"

"Thawne."

"Is there a reason you're bothering my cousin, Detective Thawne? I didn't realize it was illegal to sit in a car."

"You're not exactly in the best part of town, Mr. Stone."

"We were in a rush to get some drinks for a small get together. Don't you have some boring police work to do?"

"Yes, I'll get right on that. I'm sorry for bothering you, miss. Enjoy the rest of your night."

It was obvious that the detective doubted his cover story. Beca quickly understood what he meant by the neighborhood being in the 'bad part of town', spotting a group of scantily clad girls, their faces caked with makeup, sneaking into the back of a car not far from the liquor store. Taking a quick glance back at her, he looked torn between continuing to question Menthols or leaving before he angered one of the richest people in the city. He settled for giving her a curt nod before returning to his police car. Instead of his home, Menthols drove to an empty parking lot near a graffiti stained warehouse.

"Don't want my fiancée to get suspicious. The maids sometimes can't keep their mouths shut," he said, blaring rock music from the radio.

"I don't mind. So, what do you like?"

Untying her coat, she straddled his lap, wearing just a skintight, low-cut black lace dress. "Surprise me."

Beca grinded her hips against his and he groaned, leaning his head back against the seat. His hand firmly gripped her backside. She rubbed his neck lightly while nipping his earlobe. He squeezed her so tightly that she thought she might snap in half and his groans got louder as he pressed himself up against her. She was surprised when he briefly stopped, panting heavily.

"Did you just—"

"Yeah, did you?" he asked, his hand sliding under her dress.

"Yeah. That was amazing," she lied, trying not to laugh over it lasting less than ten seconds.

"I'm just that good, sexy."

Beca resisted the urge to vomit when he ravaged her mouth with sloppy kisses. She pretended to enjoy the feeling of being licked by a dog but on the inside, she was counting down the minutes until she was back in her apartment. His musty breath made it that much harder but the pills and the sound of rain drops striking the window helped, letting her escape to her own little world. He began to unzip her dress when a flash of light shined on the right side of her face. At first, she thought that the detective had been following them but turning her head, she witnessed some sort of explosion in the middle of the city. The music turned to static and the beer inside one of the unopened bottles began to rise into the air.

"What's wrong? You don't like that?" he asked, kissing her bare shoulder.

"I think something happened at STAR Labs."

"At what? Who cares? Take off that dress."

A ripple of light, like a giant tidal wave, emanated from the explosion, dispersing all across the city. The last thing she remembered that night was the light passing through the car, shattering the windows.

 _Another sunny morning here in Central City. Enjoy those last few days of sun before school starts again. I'm Mikey Mad Dog and beside me is my cohost, Vicky Vixen. Before we begin our Top 40 countdown, we thought we'd discuss the recent decision to again pardon STAR Labs and its owner, Dr. Harrison Wells, for its crimes against our beloved city that was devastated and nearly destroyed in a single night._

"Seriously, this again? How many times do they have to decide whether to arrest us or not? They're acting like we planned the whole thing. It's been nine months. Can't they talk about anything else?"

 _If you ask me, Mikey, the judge should have at least decided to charge him for something. I mean, he's this brilliant scientist and you're telling me that he didn't make sure that this big machine wouldn't blow up? I'd say karma got him by putting him in that wheelchair but it's so not enough._

"Big machine? It's a particle accelerator. Now she's probably going to go on and on for another half hour about how Wells got off easy because he's good looking and charming. Change the station. Victoria's Secret should be listening to good music, not two idiots with the combined IQ of a box of rocks."

"Cisco, we know her name. Stop calling her that."

"Well, you banned me from calling her Mrs. Cisco Ramon and I like my nicknames. It's not like she can hear me."

"Auditory functions are the last to degenerate so it's possible that she's heard every word…unfortunately."

"Then it won't be weird when she wakes up and I propose to her, right? I've got a ring pop saved in my pocket. You think she likes watermelon?"

"I think you should focus on checking her vitals, not proposing to a stranger with a piece of candy. It happened again. Did you see that spike in her metabolism?"

Beca's eyes popped open as something sharp pierced her skin. She sat up, immediately feeling lightheaded and exhausted. Instead of an expensive sports car, she was sitting on a cot in a white room filled with scientific equipment and video screens along the walls, similar to the ones in STAR Labs. Her dress had somehow been taken off and she was only wearing her bra and a pair of black sweatpants. Wires were attached all over her body, from her chest to the side of her head, and a long, thin tube was lodged inside her nostrils.

The surprised brunette girl beside her lowered the needle that was barely pressed into Beca's forearm and picked up an instrument that she had seen plenty of times in a doctor's office. Gently grabbing Beca's chin, she turned her head towards her and shined the bright light of the instrument into her eyes. Her words sounded like garbled mumbling and as she talked about things like her pulse and heart rate, Beca could not help staring at the syringe on the small table, her whole body shaking. She jumped when a hand rested on her shoulder, belonging to a smiling boy with shoulder-length dark hair. He seemed much more friendly than the girl, offering her a twizzler. Reluctantly, she took it from him and bit off a very small piece.

"Just relax, Beca. You're okay."

She removed the tube from her nose as the girl stuck the instrument in her ear. "H—how do you know my name?"

"We'll explain everything. I'm Cisco Ramon. The girl who is invading the privacy of your ears is Caitlin…Dr. Snow. Put the cup down. She doesn't have to pee right away," he said, taking a clear container from her.

"Am I in STAR Labs?"

"Yep. Well…what's left of it anyway. You've missed a lot while you were in a coma. By the way, you've been in a coma since the night of the particle accelerator explosion. It's no big deal. We've been taking care of you. The hospital didn't mind but it took a lot of convincing with your uncle. He really doesn't trust people, huh?"

"My uncle? Is he here?"

Caitlin shook her head. "No. He visited once a week, sometimes twice. He was very worried about you but Dr. Wells assured him that you would be safest here. I know this is a lot to take in but if you could just urinate in that cup so I can run some tests—"

"The girl just woke up from a coma after nine months. Give her a second," said Cisco, handing Beca a STAR Labs sweatshirt and a pair of sneakers.

As she pulled the sweatshirt over her head, she could only think of two things: being asleep for nine months and Damien. She was worried about his reaction when he learned that she was finally awake and could not even begin to imagine how much she missed in nearly a year. Caitlin, having the emotional capacity of a robot, continued to talk about performing tests and Beca's odd changes in energy levels at random times. Beca tensed up at the mention of getting a blood sample.

"I—I don't like needles."

"There's no need for that right now, Dr. Snow. I'm glad to see you're awake, Miss Pierce."

Her eyes widened as Wells entered the room in a wheelchair. She vaguely remembered hearing about it on the radio minutes before waking up but seeing it firsthand was entirely different. He beckoned her to follow him. Tying the laces of her sneakers, she jumped down from the cot, feeling like a newborn colt just learning to walk. Cisco kept her steady and once she regained her balance, she left the lab with him, Wells, and Caitlin. The current state of the laboratory was in stark contrast to the night she visited with Damien, looking more like a ghost town. There were no excited patrons waiting to see the latest invention, just a haunting silence in the long hallways. Wells explained STAR Labs had been shut down after the accident that led to the deaths of seventeen people and an even higher number of people injured in the explosion, including Wells and Beca herself.

According to Cisco, the police had found Beca shortly after the explosion, alone in a car. She refrained from asking about the whereabouts of her 'date', assuming the worst. The hospital staff was puzzled by her condition, with her being in a comatose state yet the monitors showing signs of a very healthy, awake person. The head doctor switched out four different machines, after the previous ones reported odd results, before allowing Wells to take her to STAR Labs. Damien was vehemently against the idea until he accepted, after much prodding, that the hospital was ill-equipped to help her. Passing by a series of rooms, she stopped, peeking into one of the windows. She recognized the thin, brunette boy lying on a cot with wires attached to his body, similar to how she had been before she woke from her coma.

"Barry?"

Wells looked at her, intrigued. "You know Mr. Allen?"

"We uh met the day of…the accident. Why is he here? Was he hurt too?"

"Yes, he's been in a coma all this time, same as you. He was quite the anomaly himself. When he was in the hospital, he repeatedly went into cardiac arrest. He'll be fine. There's no reason to worry, Miss Pierce. I can have Caitlin contact your uncle to inform of the change in your condition."

"No, I uh—that's okay. I'll um…I wouldn't mind the fresh air. I'll tell him…I'll uh call when I get back to my apartment."

"You just woke up from a coma, Beca. I don't think it's wise to be walking around right away. You need a few days to rest," said Caitlin.

"Seriously, I'm all good. Just let me go home."

"Okay.

Cisco looked impressed while Caitlin's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, as though she misheard her own words. "Wow, you got her to agree with you. That's a first."

Repeatedly thanking them for their help, she headed towards the front doors. Her own fear was winning out over her desire to stay at STAR Labs to check on Barry. She knew him for less than a day but he was honestly the closest thing to a friend she had in Central City. The door swung open as she reached for the handle and she collided into Damien's chest. His frustration was quickly replaced with relief and he embraced her in a warm hug. Her arms remained at her side.

"Beca, thank goodness. When did you—why didn't Harrison call me with the news?"

"We were just about to, Damien, but I suppose Beca wanted to tell you herself," replied Wells, observing the discomfort evident in Beca's face.

"Well, I'm relieved. I was beginning to think you'd never wake up. Let's get you home."

Hearing her stomach grumble, she reached into Cisco's jacket pocket, taking out the ring pop. "I like watermelon but I'm old-fashioned. I like to go on a few dates before I get married," she whispered in his ear, suppressing a giggle at the blush in his cheeks.

During the drive back to her apartment, Damien's hand never left her knee. He spoke animatedly about the beginning of a new school year and Beca already being enrolled in classes for the fall semester. It was as if she had not spent nine months in a coma. Her apartment had not changed one bit, looking the same as the day she arrived in Central City. She laid down on the couch, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Just a little tired, I guess."

"Get some rest. You've got a lot to do...what with your classes beginning tomorrow and work."

"W—what?"

He tucked a few strands of golden blonde hair behind her ear. "You have nine months of business to make up for, sweetheart. We're lucky that Stone's payment went through before the accident. Everyone missed you so much, but no one more than me. You're my best girl."

As his thumb brushed against her cheek, she felt a strange sensation flow through her body, like drinking several, giant cups of coffee at once. He let out a small yawn, blaming it on a lack of sleep from a charity event the night before, and pecked her cheek before leaving her alone in the living room…


	2. Strange Events

If Beca was given the choice, she would readily slip back into her coma. She had spent only one day in Central City yet when she woke up, the entire city knew her name, except not her actual name. Her first day at Central City University consisted of many students nicknaming her _Coma Girl_ , sounding like some kind of superhero who spent most of their time sleeping. Having to endure constant questions about her comatose state was bad enough but the difficulty of her classes, all chosen by Damien, made it ten times worse. She would have been excited to attend classes if she understood more than five words spoken by the professors.

Going back to her elementary school days, she used colored highlighters in her notebook and textbook: yellow to indicate parts she understood, green to indicate parts where she was slightly confused, and red to indicate parts that made no sense to her. By the end of the first day, all of her books were redder than tomatoes. Damien was not much help either, brushing off her concerns with assurances that she needed time to adjust to the classes. The only upside to her time in a coma was that her professors were much more lenient, never asking her questions and offering her extra time to prepare for quizzes in case she was still suffering some side effects.

When she was not desperately staring at the clock, waiting for a class to end, or at work, she was visiting Barry at STAR Labs. He had not yet woken up from his coma but it did allow her to get to know Caitlin and Cisco. Being super geniuses, they were the perfect people to help her with her homework. To someone like them, with their high IQs, it was easy for them to solve a math problem or describe some scientific process though they needed to use basic terms to help Beca understand it herself. The two of them seemed to be great friends yet complete opposites of each other. While Cisco was the goofball, Caitlin tended to be more straitlaced and rule-abiding. She rarely cracked a smile but Beca imagined that if she had lost a loved one from the explosion, she would behave in a similar manner.

Upon learning that Beca was spending her free time at the lab, Damien was furious, not wanting her to be anywhere near Wells and his team. She was certain that he was resentful of Wells for his accident putting her in a coma. Despite his objections, she continued to visit the lab, lying that she was studying in the campus library.

Beca had just entered the convenience store a block away from her apartment. She spoke to Damien, holding her phone against her ear, as she walked along the aisles.

"I got the money. Why are you angry?" she asked, grabbing a carton of milk.

"Beca, I'm not—it's been happening quite frequently. It's odd."

"Well, they're kind of old. Maybe they shouldn't be out that late." Busying herself with which flavor of chips to choose, she refrained from mentioning that last night's customer was not the first in the past two weeks to end their session early. "What other reason could there be?"

"I haven't a clue. Where are you?"

"I'm just getting some milk and bread at the store before I meet Caitlin at _Jitters_ for help with that physics assignment. Just Caitlin and no one else."

Damien's aversions to her visit at STAR Labs had to do with Cisco as much as Wells. He only gave her permission to see Caitlin outside of the lab, on the condition that they were working on school assignments.

"I don't want to keep you from your work. I um…I promise I'll be home for lunch."

After getting bread and a box of chocolate pretzels, she waited at the end of the long line. It felt like she was standing in line for hours before she reached the counter. The boy behind the register, in his mid-twenties with tousled dark hair, smiled at her. She placed her items on the counter, shyly asking for the snacks to be placed in a separate bag from the boutique next door.

"Thanks, Kyle. I know it's a weird thing to ask but my uncle…he really hates junk food."

"Hey, I get it. When I was fifteen, my mom forced me to go on a diet with her. I thought I was turning into a rabbit from all those carrots. It comes to 13.96."

Beca reached into her purse. "And don't say it's free this time. I'm not getting you in trouble. My bag's a mess. Sorry."

"Take all day if you want. I don't mind having to look at that pretty face." His smile made her pale cheeks turn bright red. "If you have your own place, why's your uncle up your ass about what you eat? Are you a model?"

She giggled. "Definitely not. He'd never let me—not that I wanted to but…I guess he's just being really protective. If he knew I had a single chip, he'd probably make me puke it up. T—that's a joke. I have a really bad sense of humor. He wouldn't actually—I'm shutting up now."

As she counted out the money, she silently wished that the store had a special lottery where the hundredth customer of the day won a lot of money. It would easily solve her problem of Damien giving her such a tiny allowance, just enough for her to sustain her throughout the week, and maybe even enough to move far away from Central City. To her confusion, Kyle refused to take her money. She suspected that it was his way of getting a date from her, an intention he made obvious since her first time in the store.

"Kyle, I already told you—"

"I forgot what my boss told me last night. We're running this secret contest. The hundredth customer is the winner. That's you, Becs."

"I didn't think it was possible but I think you're worse at math than me. It's only ten in the morning. There's no way you've had a hundred customers yet."

"Ha ha, I know how to count and it's you. Winner gets all the money in the register." He opened the register and handed her nearly three hundred dollars in cash. "You should be more excited than that. I remember what it's like to be in college. Three hundred dollars to us is like winning the lottery."

"Seriously, is this some grand gesture to lead into you asking me out? Because most guys just say I have pretty eyes. They don't give me hundreds of dollars."

Kyle was insistent that the contest was real. Though she doubted that he would risk losing his job over impressing a girl, a small part of her wondered if he was honestly that crazy. No matter how much she tried, offering the money to someone else, he asserted that she was the contest winner and earned her prize. She hesitated to take the money before leaving the store. Returning to her apartment, she placed the money in a jewelry box under a loose floorboard in the closet.

"I'll never have enough," she whispered, counting out the money.

She spent the next hour in her living room, watching cartoons and savoring the taste of sea salt chips. Her time away from Damien allowed her to live life as a normal person, not a health nut. In the middle of flipping through channels, she heard a loud knock and nearly spilled the bag of chips on the couch. She darted to her bedroom, hiding the bag in the bottom drawer of her dresser. The knocking was getting progressively louder, and to her surprise, a middle-aged, balding man in a police uniform, not Damien, was standing in the hallway.

"You Beca Pierce?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"Y—yes. Can I uh help you?"

"I need you to come to the station with me. We'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind. Follow me."

Beca's heart raced as she sat in the back of the police car. The man was not very talkative, playing the radio instead of answering her questions. She contemplated texting Damien but before she could type one word, the man snatched her phone. Fearing that she was about to be thrown in jail, she bounced on her heels in the elevator on the way up to the police station. Her stomach twisted into knots and housed a thousand, raging butterflies and she thought that at any moment, the chips she had devoured would soon be a stain on the floor.

The man led her to the desk of another officer, who she recognized from the night of the explosion. He was the officer who interrogated her date outside the liquor store.

"Thanks, Charlie. Have a seat, Beca." Flashing a kind smile, he pulled out a chair. "I'm Detective Eddie Thawne. I don't know if you remember me. We briefly met at—"

"I remember you. Why am I here? Am I in trouble?"

He turned the screen of his computer towards her. A small screen showed the inside of the convenience store with a timestamp of _9:58 AM_ in the corner. In the screen, she was speaking to Kyle though neither of their voices were heard, only silence. She pinched the inside of her wrist as the video showed Kyle handing her the money.

"We got a call from Mr. Daniels, who owns the _Central City Mart_ , around 10:15. He was checking on his employee, Kyle Rayner, when he noticed that all of the cash was suspiciously gone from the register yet there were no signs of a robbery. He sent us this security footage not too long ago. As you can see, that's you talking to Mr. Rayner."

"I—I didn't…I won the contest."

Eddie paused the video and shot her a puzzled look. "Contest?"

"Kyle said—I know it's going to sound weird but he said that I was somehow the hundredth customer and they were having this contest. I didn't want to take the money but he kept saying it was the prize. Didn't you ask him?"

"Yes. He had no recollection of giving away the money and he never mentioned any contest."

"H—he probably just made it up to…well, I don't know why. Okay, I kind of maybe do because he likes me and maybe the money was a weird way of getting me to like him as more than a friend. I mean, we're not really like best friends. We just met like last week so it's uh—do you seriously think I stole that money?"

"Footage doesn't lie, Beca. Do you want to know what I think? You said that he had a possible crush on you. Who's to say you didn't use that to your advantage? A pretty college girl in need of some quick cash…" Despite her repeatedly shaking her head and saying "No", he continued with his crazy theory that she manipulated Kyle's feelings to trick him into giving her money. "Maybe he's saying that he doesn't remember because he doesn't want you to get in trouble. Maybe you offered to—"

"You're a buttface!"

Her insult and raised voice caused several heads to glance in her direction. She shrank in her chair, looking up at a stunned Eddie.

"I—I didn't mean to say that out loud but you are like a total buttface. If you thought some old guy stole the money, you wouldn't be asking him if he like flirted with Kyle. You're just accusing me of that because I'm a girl. That's not fair. I told you what happened."

"And your story makes no sense. Perhaps it would if Mr. Rayner remembered anything past talking to you in the store but most of your conversation is a giant blur. I find that convenient."

"Well, I find you being a sexist buttface, Detective Barbie…and yeah, I said Barbie. You're way too pretty to just be Ken. See, I can be mean too. That video doesn't prove anything. Unless you can travel back in time, I can't prove that we talked about the contest. If you want the money, I can give it back. I can—"

"What's going on here?"

A dark-skinned officer, with a receding hairline, walked towards the desk. His eyes flickered between a red-faced Eddie and a sheepish yet angry Beca. Eddie, still reeling from her insult, stuttered out the details of the case at the convenience store.

"Beca, right? You were at STAR Labs with—glad to see you're awake. You gave your uncle quite the scare. He visited the lab with me and my daughter Iris. It was a long nine months. I'm Detective Joe West."

"Are you Barry's dad?" she asked, curiously.

"Heh, well, it's uh a little complicated. I don't think there's much of a case here. You were just in a bad situation. Do you have the money?"

"B—back at my apartment, yeah."

"Bring it to the station later and everything will be fine."

"Joe, you can't seriously let this slide. The Stone incident was one thing but come on, we have security footage," hissed Eddie.

"Let it go, partner. I believe her. Boys do crazy stuff at that age to impress a girl."

After thanking Detective West over a dozen times, she headed over to the elevator. Beca was relieved that she was not being arrested on robbery charges but the knots in her stomach remained intact. She was curious about Kyle's odd memory loss and why he would lie about the contest. If it was all to impress her, he had fallen for her very quickly in just over a week. As she texted Damien that she was on her way to his apartment, she bumped into someone, knocking her to the floor.

Barry was outside the elevator with a beautiful, dark-skinned girl. "I am so sorry, m—" His eyes widened, seeing Beca. "B—Beca? Hey!"

She was taken aback by him pulling her into a hug. "I heard you were at STAR Labs too but you woke up before me." The girl looked amused by his reaction. "Are you okay? How are you feeling? Did Cisco and Caitlin make sure that—"

"Yeah, I'm okay. It's weird that I was asleep for nine months but I'm getting used to it. I was going to stop by the lab after lunch. My uncle kind of doesn't want me around Wells so I have to get creative with my excuses."

"Cisco mentioned that you were visiting me too. That's really…uh you haven't met Iris, have you? Iris, this is—"

The girl shook her hand. "Beca. I heard you before, Barry. It's nice to finally meet you. I think we were supposed to meet that night at STAR Labs. Barry kept going on and on about how you were new to Central City and he wanted me to help you out. I can still do that, if you want."

"That'd be great. I've been going to classes for two weeks and most people still call me Coma Girl. I'm thinking I should make a t-shirt…get a mask and cape. I haven't had much time to explore the city with my uncle being even more protective than usual. I actually have to go meet him now but maybe I'll see you at STAR Labs, Barry. Cisco and Caitlin kind of help me with my homework because they're geniuses. Nice meeting you, Iris."

Damien's penthouse apartment was more than ten blocks away from the police station. She sat on the bus, avoiding the lecherous stares of the elderly man sitting across from her whose eyes had not left her chest from the moment she stepped onto the bus. Hugging her jacket close to her body, she glanced out the window as several police cars sped down the street. In the seat in front of her, two teenage girls were reading updates on their phones about a bank robbery, the third robbery this month. One of the girls mentioned that an employee posted a video where it seemed to be raining inside the bank.

As she opened the door to his apartment, she overheard him speaking with another man. The man, who spoke in a gravelly voice, was insistent on continuing their business together. Hiding behind the wall, she peeked around the corner. Damien was glaring at a blonde man with disheveled hair that fell over his eyes and light stubble, most of his face disguised by a baseball cap. He spotted the tip of her boot sticking out from the wall.

"Beca, you're here. There's no reason to hide. My friend was just on his way out."

"This isn't over, Damien. You'd be smart to take up my offer. It isn't like the last time," the man hissed.

On his way out, he glanced over at Beca with a smug smirk and slammed the door behind him. Damien apologized, calling the shifty man an old acquaintance.

"Lunch is almost ready. You can help by setting the table," he said, entering the kitchen.

"Wasn't that Clyde Mardon?" He tensed up as he opened one of the cabinets near the sink. "I recognize his face from a picture at the university. It's on this wall of people who died on the night of the explosion. He was a criminal or I guess he still is since he didn't die. How did he survive a plane crash?"

"He's…a very lucky man."

"Did you just find out that he's alive? What was he—"

"Beca, that's enough. He's simply a man who survived a terrible accident and won't be bothering us again. No more questions. You know what they say…curiosity killed the cat."

"And satisfaction brought it back." Her eyes darted down to her boots as he turned towards her. "That's the…full phrase. My mom—I uh I think I read it somewhere. You're right. No more questions. I'll set the table."

Another two weeks had passed since Barry woke from his coma and the city was dealing with numerous strange events, including Mardon being killed for real this time and reports of a red streak being seen around the city and saving people. No one was able to see the person behind the amazing rescues, only noting that it was a quick blur. Damien deemed the stories as nothing more than tabloids messing with the easily fooled citizens of Central City but despite his scoffing at the stories popping up each day, Beca knew that he was interested in the mysterious blur's identity.

The other strange thing was that Beca was no longer allowed inside STAR Labs, due to ongoing renovations, which meant that she could only hang out with Cisco, Caitlin, and Barry at other places around the city, making her very anxious. Whenever they just went to _Big Belly Burger_ or _Jitters_ , where Iris worked as a waitress, she was constantly glancing over the shoulder, worried that she would bump into Damien or one of his 'acquaintances'.

As much as she appreciated getting to know Iris, one downside to spending time at Jitters was seeing her with her secret boyfriend, Eddie, who had not forgotten Beca's visit to the police station. Unlike Detective West, Iris's father and his partner, he believed that she was lying about the supposed robbery at the convenience store and his refusal to disregard the matter strained her burgeoning friendship with Kyle.

The first time seeing Kyle after the incident at the store, he forced one of the other employees to take his place at the register while he conveniently sneaked into the back room to find some random item. It was not until Beca confronted him that he apologized a hundred times for getting her in trouble with the police, blaming his memory loss on a batch of pot brownies from his friend that he ate before work.

Beca was at Stagg industries, dragged to an award ceremony by Damien. The head of the company, Simon Stagg, was a philanthropist and scientist receiving a fancy award from the university. She leaned against the wall, holding a glass of champagne, as he spoke with his colleagues. Iris and Barry walked over and greeted her. Neither of them expected to see the other at the awards ceremony, with Iris only being there to write an article for her journalism class and Barry as her science translator and Beca being forced to attend to give her a glimpse of her potential future as a scientist.

"How did it go with that art club meeting?" asked Iris, interested. "You said you loved drawing so I thought it would be a good place to start."

Beca bit her bottom lip. "Well, I went and uh apparently, being famous for being in a coma for nine months isn't enough to let you through the door. The girl in charge said that I wasn't the right fit."

"What? How could she know that? She can't just judge you by—"

"She didn't. It was my uncle. I'm pretty sure he intimidated the whole campus into not letting me join a club. With my job and just recently waking up from a coma, he's in maximum protective mode. I'm kind of surprised he hasn't got a security team watching my every move when I leave the apartment. He's—"

"Beca, it's about to begin. We should get—hello, Mr. Allen."

Damien interrupted the conversation and shook Barry's hand. She remembered Damien once mentioning that Barry was in some of his classes when he attended the university.

"I didn't realize you knew my niece."

"Yeah, we met the day of the STAR Labs incident, actually. We were at _Bi—"_

"I was exploring the campus and he was passing by to go to the library." She subtly tapped her heel on the floor, as a sign for him to back up her story. "He helped me find all my classes."

Barry nodded. "Yeah, I remember how confusing it was for me the first day."

"How noble of you. I'm afraid I have to steal her away," said Damien, placing his hand on her lower back. "Beca, there's some people here I want you to meet. Wonderful to see you, Mr. Allen."

Before she could even open her mouth to say goodbye, Damien pulled her into the crowd. She winced at his fingers digging into her wrist. For a moment, he held back a yawn but continued dragging her towards two men near the stage: one, dark-skinned, muscular, and very tall, and the other, middle-aged with greying brown hair. Both men were dressed in dark suits and the taller of the two was unmistakably a bodyguard.

Damien shook the older man's hand. "Simon, good to see you again. You must be quite proud of this award."

"Someday, it'll be your turn, Barnett." the man replied with a chuckle. He noticed Beca beside him and she soon felt uncomfortable by his penetrating gaze. "And who is the lovely woman with you today?"

"This is Beca. Beca, meet Simon Stagg, the guest of honor."

"Even prettier than you described, Barnett." Stagg planted a wet kiss on the back of her hand. "Certainly seems worth the price you gave me but I've met plenty of beautiful women in my lifetime. How do I know she's worth it? Maybe that coma messed around with her."

"I guarantee you that she's worth it, trust me. She's worth every last penny."

Stagg grinned. "I'll take your word for it. We'll make the arrangements after my speech."

As Stagg stepped onto the stage, to the applause of the crowd, Beca was mere seconds away from covering the floor in regurgitated champagne. She listened to his long speech and caught Barry staring at her out of the corner of her eye. It was not the lecherous stare of a man sitting across from her on the bus. She was not used to the expression on his face but she briefly thought it was one of concern.

Damien left her to discuss the latest arrangement in Stagg's office. Being left alone allowed her to talk to Iris and Barry without him breathing over her shoulder. She walked towards them in hopes that she was not interrupting a personal moment, considering Barry's awkward expression (though he usually had that expression on his face most of the time).

"Hey, is everything okay with your uncle?" he asked, his gaze tearing away from Iris.

Beca crossed her arms. "Yeah, why wouldn't—why makes you think he isn't okay? He's always okay. I can't imagine why he wouldn't be."

"I just didn't understand why you lied about how we met. It's not like I saw you naked. N—not that I would want to—I'm sure it would be—oh, that came out really wrong." Iris giggled under her breath. "I didn't mean it that way. I just…you can ask, Iris. I can embarrass myself and the people around me in less than a minute."

"You didn't do anything, Barry. He uh doesn't like me eating fast food. He's on a bit of a health kick so if he heard we met at _Big Belly Burger_ —"

Loud gunshots rang throughout the room. Six men, all wearing black ski masks and carrying guns, surrounded the crowd and one of the men on the stage ordered them to hand over all of their jewelry. The six men moved through the crowd, stashing the jewelry into small duffel bags. Barry stood protectively in front of both Beca and Iris, quietly assuring them that they were safe. Iris stopped him from pursuing the robbers, who were all heading towards the front doors.

A lone security guard emerged from the crowd, ordering them to drop their weapons. All of the guests crouched down in a panic, their arms over their heads, as the men shot at the guard. Peeking through her fingers, Beca saw the guard vanish in a split second, the bullets striking a glass sculpture of the Stagg Industries logo.

"Beca, where's Barry?"

Like the security guard, Barry was nowhere to be found inside the room. They eventually discovered him outside the building, very lightheaded and sitting against a dumpster. Beca helped him back inside the building, looping one of his arms around her shoulders. Panting heavily, he explained that he fainted after chasing the robbers to find the license plate of their van.

The police were already questioning people about the attack. Beca rolled her eyes when she heard a trio of women in their early forties fretting over their expensive, stolen jewelry. Detective West and Eddie were comparing notes and seeing Iris, Eddie's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Do you want me to get a paramedic, Allen?" he asked, hearing that Barry had fainted outside.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks, Eddie."

Beca checked that he was able to stand on his own two feet. "Aren't you such a Prince Charming? Did you ride here on your white horse?"

Eddie's nostrils flared at her remark. With a heavy sigh, Detective West reached into his pocket and held out a Ziploc bag, _Beca Jar_ written over the plastic in black marker.

"Put a dollar in there." She looked at him strangely. "This has been going on for two weeks. Whenever you make a sarcastic comment or give him some nickname, you put a dollar in the bag. I've got one for you too, partner...for when you bring up that convenience store incident, give her a suspicious look, or make your own little comment towards her. The way it's been going, I'll have enough for pizza by the end of the day. I can't carry around jars all the time so this is the substitute."

Not bothering to argue with a police officer, she placed a dollar inside the bag. She nudged Barry's side when she heard him and Iris stifling their laughter.

On their way home, Damien was in a chipper mood, having convinced Stagg to pay triple the original price. He did not elaborate on why Stagg was willing to pay such a hefty amount, only telling her that he offered an extra incentive. Her stomach twisted into knots as she imagined what he meant with the knowledge that it involved her, Stagg, and an unpleasant situation.

The following night, Beca was pacing around the alley beside Stagg Industries, waiting for her pills to take effect. Her short dress was covered up by her black peacoat and her high heels clicked against the asphalt. She shivered from the slight chill in the air.

"Waiting for me, beautiful?" A man in his thirties, one of Stagg's bodyguards, left through a side door, his eyes traveling up and down her body. "Wearing that dress, you're definitely here for me," he said, licking his lips.

"I'm waiting for a friend."

The man smirked. "I doubt Stagg's a friend. Are you his newest little plaything? Prettier than the last one Barnett sent."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Just leave me alone." She began to walk towards the parking lot when he grabbed her arm roughly and pinned her against the wall.

"I guard that pompous jackass all day. I don't think he'll mind if I get the first taste. You like it in the back, blondie?" he asked, the smell of whiskey all over his breath.

Beca squealed when his lips pressed against hers. Being far too strong to simply push away, she settled for kicking at his shins. She grabbed his wrist, stopping his hand from even touching her thigh. Her fear soon turned to confusion as his lips slowly stopped sucking off her face like some alien monster and his entire body slumped forward, crushing her into the wall. Squeezing out of the tight space, she watched as the man collapsed to the ground, his face ghostly pale. His veins were protruding under his skin, especially in his cheeks, and his gaunt appearance reminded her of a crushed, empty juice box.

She tapped his side with the bottom of her heel. "A—are you okay? Of course you're not okay. You're not even—are you breathing? Why do I keep asking you questions?" Her fingers rested on the side of his neck and felt a faint pulse. "You're not d—not that I thought you were…I need to do something. Call Damien. No, bad idea. Get you to a hospital. They can—no, very bad idea. I'll figure it out."

Retrieving his keys from his pocket, she pressed the alarm in the parking lot and hauled him towards the black sedan, moving him only a few inches within ten minutes. She was startled by the sound of breaking glass as she managed to lift him into the backseat. Quickening her pace, she sat in the driver's seat and fumbled with the keys, her nerves making the easiest task a hundred times more difficult. The car kept stalling as she attempted to move in reverse and she smacked into the curb in the middle of making a slight turn.

"I can't do this. I can't—I just have to call Damien. He'll know what to do—or he won't and he'll freak out. I don't want that. I need to—I just need to take a breath."

A red blur burst out from the front doors. She left the car, seeing a man in a dark red suit speaking to himself.

"I couldn't stop him from falling. I tried. I'm heading back now."

"Psst," she whispered.

The masked man turned around and upon seeing her, his head whipped back and forth so fast that it looked like it was about to fall from his shoulders.

"D—don't mind me, miss. I was just leaving a super hero club meeting," he said in a deep voice, giving her an awkward wave. "We uh talk about our favorite comics and dress up as characters for fun. Whatever you think you saw—"

"Barry, I need your help. Come here."

"W—who's Barry? My name's—"

"I know you're the streak! Stop making up really bad excuses and come here before someone else show up!"

Her hair was blown back by a gust of wind when he moved from the front doors to the man's car in the blink of an eye. He lowered his mask and stared at her, speechless.

"Beca, why are you—how did you know?"

"You woke up from a coma and then a few days later, there's a report about some freaky blur rescuing people. I know I'm blonde but I'm not that dumb. I'm actually really…what's the word? I read it in my dictionary app. It means observant. Per…perceptive. I'm very perceptive. How are you so fast?"

"I'll explain everything to you later. Why are you at Stagg Industries?"

"I was passing by on my way to meet a friend and I saw this guy in the alley. I found him like that and I don't know what to do. He has a really weak pulse and he's…" Barry glanced at the man in the backseat. The man's hair had now turned from dirty blonde to grey. "Please don't make that face. I'm freaking out enough. What do we do? He looks—can the hospital even do anything?"

"Relax. We can take him to STAR Labs. I'd take us there by running but I don't know if that's safe. Let me drive."

Within a matter of minutes, they arrived at STAR Labs. Barry slung the barely conscious man over his shoulder and carried him into the lab, Beca a couple steps behind him. He gripped her hand as it trembled at her side, instantly giving her the tiniest sense of relief. Cisco, Caitlin, and Wells were sitting in a control room.

Cisco jumped up from his seat. "Man, that was awe—" His voice faltered as he saw her. "B—Beca. Hey Beca. I see you found out about Barry's love of cosplay. He's really into it. That's uh why you couldn't visit the lab. He wanted time to figure out how to tell you since some people are weirded out by it. He's a character from this really obscure comic book from the—"

"Cisco, she knows," said Barry, passing by him to place the man on an empty cot in the next room. "She found this guy near Stagg Industries. I have no idea what happened to him but I thought Caitlin could figure it out."

Caitlin gestured Beca to follow her into the room and asked all kinds of questions about the man, including how he initially looked when she found him and if she saw him eat or drink anything before collapsing. Beca gave the same cover story: that she was on her way to meet a friend when she spotted the man in the alley.

"You can fix him, right?"

"I have to find the cause of his condition but when I do, yes. He still has a pulse, which is a good sign."

Cisco handed her a water bottle and pulled out one of the chairs. "Hey, don't worry. Caitlin's got this. Just sit and relax. If you want, you can help me come up with a better name for our new metahuman. He's dead but he still deserves a name and Captain Clone wasn't my best idea."

"Metawhat?"

"Cisco, can you come here? I could use some help," said Caitlin, inspecting the man's mouth for any poisonous substances.

While Caitlin worked on saving the man, Beca busied herself by tapping her fingers on her lap in a rhythmic pattern. Wells rolled over to her, looking intrigued.

"Miss Pierce, do you know what a tell is?" She shrugged, a sense of dread traveling up her spine. "It's commonly associated with poker…a sort of action that betrays someone who is trying to be deceptive. They're quite easy to spot. Yours, for instance, is when you scratch the back of your ear, which is what you did before telling Caitlin how you found that man."

"Pfft, that's—okay, I know you're like some super genius but you're not tricking me with fake science talk. People can just scratch their ears. It doesn't mean anything."

"Perhaps not but you are certainly not being honest. I think you know what happened to this man and Caitlin can't treat him unless she has all the facts. I doubt you wish for him to die."

"I think I did it," she mumbled into the sleeve of her coat.

"What was that?"

"I—I think I…maybe it wasn't me but it's not the first time something like this happened." Caitlin, Barry, and Cisco stepped into the control room. "Not this bad but—ever since I woke up, weird stuff's been happening. When Da—my uncle touches my shoulder or something, he'll yawn and it's happened with other people too. They just get really tired. I—I was waiting for my friend to pick me up and that man was bothering me. He kissed me and when I tried to get him off, he started to…I don't know. _That_ happened," she said, pointing at the man lying on the cot.

Cisco excitedly exclaimed that she was another metahuman, like Barry, the man who attempted to kill Stagg, and Clyde Mardon who was able to control the weather. Wells agreed with him, explaining that the sudden spikes in her vitals in her comatose state only occurred whenever one of them made physical contact. He suggested that physical contact allowed Beca to siphon off a person's energy, in turn strengthening herself. She was panicking on the inside while Barry and Caitlin looked surprised and Cisco was moving around the room like a child after eating tons of candy.

Her thoughts drifted to the day at the convenience store. "C—could someone get more than one power?" she asked Wells.

"Well, I'm certain that Barry can do more than just run very fast. Once we get a better grasp of your abilities, we'll understand its potential. Why do you ask?"

"Something else happened. Maybe it was more than once but I don't know." She opened up about the strange encounter at the convenience store, how she had been thinking about winning a lot of money and then Kyle told her that she won a contest. "But then he didn't remember any of that conversation. Detective West thought he was just lying because he was embarrassed but what if he really did forget?"

"And you can make people do stuff with just your thoughts? This is awesome. Beca, I'm not sleeping until I find the perfect nickname for your badass powers."

"T—that's nice but how do we help him if we don't even know how I…hurt him."

"Beca, don't say it like that. You were scared and it was self-defense. You didn't hurt him on purpose," insisted Barry, hearing the fear in her voice.

"I may have an idea. Miss Pierce, if you'll come with me," said Wells, going into the other room.

Beca hesitated to join him by the cot. Knowing that it was her fault, she could not even look the man in the face. She overheard Caitlin arguing with Cisco over his possible nicknames and telling him to be more considerate. Wells shut the door to give them some peace and quiet.

"It's merely a hunch. I want you to place your hands over his."

"B—but if you're right, that'll make things worse. You said touching him—"

"Miss Pierce, I wouldn't want to put you through more grief. Now, place your hands over his," he said, guiding her hands on top of the man's own left hand. "Close your eyes and focus…imagine all that energy flowing through you and back into his body. Take slow, deep breaths and concentrate."

She struggled to follow his instructions, too concerned with hurting the man. "You're not concentrating. You're letting fear take over. As I said, imagine that energy…you can feel it right now, pulsing through you." His hands touched her shoulders and moved down her arms. "Feel it in your arms and traveling down to your fingertips."

A warm sensation trickled down the inside of her arms. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes and was stunned to see that the man looked relatively normal. His hair was back to its dirty blonde color and his veins were no longer protruding under his skin though his face remained ghostly pale.

"H—he's better. Did I really—"

"Yes. You see, your gifts don't need to be seen as something frightening. I can only imagine what you'll find yourself able to do when you truly begin to understand your abilities. Cisco, Caitlin, and I…and of course Barry, we'll be there to guide you, Miss Pierce," he said, moving his hands from her arms.

"Just Beca's okay." She hugged him, careful not to touch his skin. "Thanks, Dr. Wells. If you didn't—I don't know what I would've done if he…y—you really helped me."

"And I will continue to do so. I have no intention of letting you figure this all out on your own. I want to be there for every step of your new journey."

As Barry used his super speed to take the man to the hospital for further treatment, she hurried back to her apartment, worried that Damien would react poorly to her, for lack of a better word, adventurous night…


	3. Central City's Newest Hero

_Celebrated Scientist, Philanthropist, and Man of the Year Recipient Still Missing_

Holding a half-eaten chocolate glazed donut in her mouth, Beca's eyes skimmed over the front page of the newspaper. An enlarged photo of Simon Stagg was placed beneath the headline, taken from the award ceremony at Central City University. Stagg had not been seen since the night that Danton Black, a former employee and metahuman with the ability to replicate himself, attempted to murder him in his own building before he was saved by Barry. Being such a well-known public figure, rumors about his mysterious disappearance were rampant throughout the city and _Central City Picture News_ was feeding on that panic, offering new theories each day.

Some believed that Stagg simply decided to take a much needed break after the failed murder attempt and was currently soaking up some sun at one of his many vacation homes, possibly with a few swimsuit models for company. The more outlandish theories revolved around Stagg being the latest scientist to vanish into thin air like Stone, who was reported missing since the particle accelerator incident, and Dr. Santos, a recent employee at Mercury Labs who was known for her promising quantum physics research.

Two weeks had passed since Stagg's secretary reported his disappearance and the police were no closer to finding him, their desperation showing as they broadened their interrogations from his loved ones and close associates to the janitors at Stagg Industries. The one upside (besides Beca never having to spend the night with him) was that it made Damien extremely paranoid. He was so concerned with being the next victim, believing that some lunatic was holding prominent citizens of Central City for ransom, that he was distracted from watching Beca like a hawk. His paranoia allowed her to get a job at Jitters, after some persistent nudging from Iris, and to spend time with Barry, Caitlin, and Cisco in public without fear of being spotted by Damien or one of his lackeys, meaning she could also learn more about her newfound abilities.

With their help, she was able to act like a normal person, not someone who could put someone in a coma by just touching their arm or accidentally have them jump in front of a bus during a moment of anger. Cisco developed several pairs of fingerless gloves that kept her from sapping a person's energy if she bumped into them on the street or in the middle of a hallway. Her classmates only saw the gloves as a unique fashion choice, not a protection from high-fiving her after their football team scored a touchdown one minute and becoming a fresh corpse the next. While the gloves were definitely helpful, he was unsure of how to handle her taking energy through other body parts and advised her against dating (getting a look of disapproval from Caitlin when he joked that the ban included him).

While she was eager to help Barry against any metahumans, Dr. Wells was strongly against the idea, wanting to better understand her abilities and their potential dangers. Her training sessions were not as simple as running on a treadmill like Barry. Wells had developed several tests that focused on each of her abilities: sapping the energy from one of them and then using it to assess her strength and robotic dummies to practice giving both verbal and nonverbal commands. After the first week, Beca found that she preferred the sessions with the whole team. Whenever she was alone with Wells, his attitude did a complete 180, becoming far more harsh and aggressive than when someone like Caitlin was in the room to test her vitals.

"You know, if you wanted to just eat breakfast, we could've done that at Jitters." Kyle, wearing sweat pants and a muscle tee that showed off his massive arms, climbed out of the boxing ring and grabbed a towel from the chair in front of her to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He glanced over the article about Stagg, detailing the latest crazy theory that Stagg's disappearance was nothing more than a cry for attention. "They're still going on about Stagg? Seriously, I bet he's in Cancun with some hot blonde, relaxing on the beach while this whole city acts like him being gone is the start of an apocalypse."

"Would he really just disappear without telling anyone?"

"Stagg's a pompous jackass. It's what they do. That donut won't teach you how to fight, you know."

Throwing him a playful glare, Beca finished the donut and followed him into the boxing ring. Wanting to prove that she was ready to fight alongside Barry, she had asked Kyle to give her some self-defense lessons. She knew that fighting metahumans required more than just telling them to stop moving and hoping that they listened before flattening her like a pancake. If there was ever a time where her powers were not working, she wanted to still be useful in a fight.

The lessons were a secret between the two of them, with Kyle even making a deal with the owner of the gym to open two hours early on the weekends. Beca knew that she would not be a master in just a few weeks but she was showing some signs of improvement from her first lesson when she could not even land a punch.

They moved back and forth across the ring, dodging each other's jabs. She threw a punch with all the strength she could muster, hitting Kyle in the chest, but the blow hurt her more than him, considering he barely flinched.

"You're not thinking. What did we talk about last time? You're not exactly a bodybuilder so you can't rely on strength. You have to use your whole body." He dodged another punch. "Or you could just headbutt them and run the hell away."

"I don't want to run."

"Then maybe you could just report the creeps in your building that are bothering you. That's why you wanted these lessons, right?" he asked, not bothering to hide the skepticism in his voice.

When she first approached him about the lessons, she lied that her reasons for wanting to learn were a few men who lived down the hall from her and were known for their late night criminal activities. It was only a partial lie since those neighbors did exist but were not an actual threat since they were hired by Damien to spy on her and anyone who visited her apartment.

"Y—yeah. One of them is like really big so if he ever tries something—"

"Damien's not that big, actually." Beca felt a giant lump in the back of her throat. Even though the gym was empty, it was as if a million pairs of eyes were staring at her. "He's the real reason you want the lessons."

"M—my uncle? That's crazy. Why would I…why would you even think that? He's my uncle. We're family. Family doesn't…I told you why I want the lessons."

"Beca, you can tell me the truth. I didn't want to say anything because I knew it would be awkward but I saw the two of you outside Jitters the other day. I was heading over there to see how your interview went and I remember how you said that he gets really protective so I waited outside the bakery next door. I couldn't hear what he was saying but I figured he was mad about the interview for whatever reason and then I saw how you looked when he grabbed your wrist and forced you to his car."

"I didn't look like anything. It was my normal face. He was mad about the interview because he doesn't want the job to interfere with my classes, that's all."

"You know what look I mean. I saw it plenty of times when I was younger and my mom wasn't dating the greatest guy. If he's hurting you, I can go with you to the pol—" With how fast she climbed out of the ring, Beca almost believed that she suddenly gained super speed. "Beca, where are you going?"

"This was a mistake. I'm not really a fighter. I'll just buy some pepper spray and a really good security system. I have to go meet up with people for a project so I'll see you…sometime in the future…maybe."

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she hurried out of the gym, fighting every urge in her body to stay and tell him the truth. She had been waiting years for anyone to listen to her about the real Damien, not the façade he carefully crafted to fool the world. The last thing she heard before the door slammed behind her was Kyle shouting her name. She soon found herself in STAR Labs where Cisco and Caitlin were aiding Barry with stopping a few petty crimes.

"Beca, you're early. I thought your session wasn't for another hour," said Caitlin, surprised.

"My um partner for my genetics presentation had to cancel so I thought I'd come here. Is Barry okay?"

"He's on his way to save people from a burning building. Dr. Wells is down in the particle accelerator to make sure Nimbus doesn't escape from his cell. I'm sure he'll be up short—"

"Succubus." Beca looked at Cisco, his wide grin reminiscent of a kid on Christmas morning. "Your name for when you and Barry are a superhero duo. It fits because they suck the energy out of people and—no, now that I think about it, that sounds more like a villain. We could try Vixen because…Caitlin, don't look at me like that. I know it's not the right fit. I'll save that one for later. I'm gonna figure out the perfect name for you, Beca. The Streak and…it'll come to me soon. I can feel it on the tip of my tongue."

The thought of having a secret identity never even crossed her mind. She began to imagine different costume ideas, something more like the Green Arrow's than Barry's, when Dr. Wells entered the room, looking like he was in deep thought.

"Ah, Miss Pierce, ready for today's session?"

"We're not waiting for Barry to come back yet? I just thought that maybe we could learn how strong my powers are if I'm using them on an actual person that moves and can feel things. It's not like plastic dummies can talk, right? If you don't want to wait for Barry, we can use Cisco instead," she said, hoping that the excuse she thought up on the spot sounded convincing.

"Until you have a better grasp of your abilities, I'd rather not put a person's life at risk. You're slowly improving but you're not there yet. Follow me."

Her feet were moving towards the door but in her mind, she was confessing her concerns to Cisco and Caitlin. No matter how much she told herself that Dr. Well's strange behavior was nothing more than her nerves making her delusional, she could not fight a gut feeling that he acted differently when they were alone. It was tough to describe, almost like he was pushing her to master her abilities while Barry himself barely understood the full extent of his beyond running impossibly fast.

"You're not concentrating." She rubbed the back of her hand, feeling soreness in her knuckles from punching one of the dummies. Instead of breaking a dummy's nose, her thoughts were plagued with a sense of dread that Kyle, in a moment of impulsiveness, would confront Damien over what he witnessed outside Jitters. "If you don't wish to learn, the door is right behind you."

"No, I want to be here. I just…my mind's kind of somewhere else. Before I came here, I—that doesn't matter. I can do this."

"I'm not sure you can, Miss Pierce. Perhaps I was wrong to give you false hope. If you can't maintain focus during a training session, how can you be expected to save people's lives out in the field? I thought you could be helpful to our new cause here at STAR Labs but now I see that you'll only be a hindrance."

Beca shook her head. "No, I—I can help. It won't happen again. I'm completely focused now."

"That's a lie. You're not ready for this line of work."

Her fists clenched as he basically tore her to pieces with insult after insult. He suggested that gaining her powers from the particle accelerator was nothing more than a mistake and unlike Barry, she could never hope to save anyone, not even herself. Every bone in her body was vibrating with white-hot rage and if it were possible, fire would be shooting out of her fingertips. A tiny voice was whispering in the back of her mind, telling her to silence him for good.

"For a moment, I thought my first impression of you was wrong but now I see that you are exactly as you seem...a young girl who has never had a single hardship in her life and breezed through because of her pep and pretty smile."

"You don't know anything about me," she hissed, gritting her teeth.

"Of course I do. Just like everything else, you think this is some sort of fun game. Why would Central City want to rely on such a weak little girl?"

"I'M NOT WEAK!"

All at once, the lights above them shattered, spraying glass across the floor, and burst of energy flowed out of her hands, the force of it knocking her into the wall. Panting heavily, she glanced up, finding the room in complete ruins. The walls were covered in a series of scorch marks, the computer screens were cracked in half, and many of the vials and beakers were now nothing more than a pile of glass and spilled chemicals. She scrambled to her feet when she saw an unconscious Dr. Wells lying on his back, several cuts on his face and a small hole in his right sleeve.

Remembering the night that Barry brought her to STAR Labs to save the security guard, she placed her hands on his chest and focused on flowing energy through them. Her arms flung around his neck when his eyes popped open, a sense of relief washing over her.

"Dr. Wells, I'm so, so, so, so, sorry. I was—I don't know how I did that. You were saying all that stuff and I just… _this_ happened," she said, speaking in one breath and gesturing at the damage. She hesitated to fix his glasses that were slightly askew, fearing that she would suddenly set his nose on fire or worse. "Do I need to get Caitlin? Can you stan—no, stupid question. Forget I started to say that. I would never do this on purpose. I don't knock people out of wheelchairs. I can't even take the little bottles of shampoo in hotels and I'm pretty sure they don't care if you take them."

"Beca? Dr. Wells?" she heard.

The door slid open and Barry, dressed in his suit, Caitlin, and Cisco rushed into the lab, startled by the loud commotion. Three pairs of eyes rested on an embarrassed Beca and disheveled Wells before taking in the damage caused by her unexpected outburst. The first to snap out of his shock, Barry placed Wells into his chair in the blink of an eye then helped Beca up from the floor, handing her a bag of ice for the bump on the back of her head.

"What happened in here?" asked Cisco, sounding more awed than frightened.

What came out of Beca's mouth was more gibberish than actual words. She did not share Cisco's enthusiasm as she explained how she somehow destroyed the room with her powers, causing Wells to be knocked out of his chair.

"I shouldn't be doing this. I can't do what you do, Barry. This was a big mistake." Her doubts were met with a chorus of no's from the trio. "I promise I'll keep your secret but me being here was a stupid idea. Dr. Wells is right."

Cleaning a spot of blood from his glasses, Wells chuckled. "Now we're getting somewhere. It seems that strong emotions brings out your true potential. I expected that to trigger another side of your powers, but not quite that intense. We'll need to alter your training sessions in the future."

"My—what are you talking about? You said I wasn't ready…plus some other really mean stuff."

"All an act. I could see you were having some doubts so I used them to help you unlock your potential. I'll admit that there were other ways but anger was the quickest. Once you're able to control your abilities, you'll certainly be an asset to Mr. Allen against these metahumans."

At a loss for words and resisting her first instinct to slap him, she stormed out of the lab. She heard a motor whirring behind her.

"Miss Pierce, if you let me explain. Miss Pie—Beca." She turned around at the sound of her name, face to face with Wells. "I understand that you're angry with me for my ruse back th—"

"You keep talking about anger. That's not what I was feeling. Okay, maybe I was a little mad about what you said but mostly I was upset."

"Perhaps it wasn't all anger but as I suspected, strong emotions do bring out your abilities. You can now tap into that moment…use what you were feeling to tap into your true power. I assure you that I did not mean a word of it. You possess incredible talents and it would be a shame not to explore them. I hope you reconsider your decision to leave. I believe the perfect place for you is here at STAR Labs."

Beca caught Barry and Cisco peeking from the door to the main control room. Biting her bottom lip, she nodded ("Ye—ow!" shouted Cisco after a smack on the head from Caitlin).

"Fine but if you do that whole insult thing again just to draw out my powers, I'm leaving."

"Oh, I will personally ensure that never happens, Miss Pierce."

"Becs?" Kyle was standing sheepishly in the middle of the hallway, holding a bag from _Big Belly Burger_ and a chocolate milkshake. "I know I'm probably the last person you want to see but can we uh talk? I brought a peace offering."

"Kyle, how did you know I was here?" she asked, worried that he heard any part of that conversation.

"Well, I remembered you saying that Caitlin sometimes help you with your homework and she works here so it wasn't hard to figure out."

"I'll leave you two to talk." For a moment, she thought Wells's lip curled in disgust. "In the future, Mr. Rayner, it would be wise to not trespass."

Beca waited for Wells to disappear behind the door to the main control room before taking the bag from Kyle. Inside was her favorite meal from _Big Belly Burger:_ a grilled chicken sandwich.

"Fries too?"

"Onion rings. I remembered you like them more. Look, you don't have to say anything. Just please listen. What happened back at the—"

"Hold on." She grabbed a can of spray paint from his backpack and chucked it at the closest camera to knock it off the wall. "Keep going."

Kyle held back a laugh. "What happened back at the gym…I shouldn't have said anything. It was wrong of me to bring it up. I just—I saw…well, I thought I saw something bad and I wanted to help. If you say that Damien doesn't hurt you, then I believe you. I won't mention it ever again. Are we good now? I kind of need a partner in crime for tonight." Reaching into his backpack, he handed her a cat mask. "You'd be the prettiest cat in the alley."

"Just the alley?" she asked, immediately surprised by her own flirtatious tone as the words came out of her mouth.

"Nah, the whole city," he replied with a crooked smile. "Is that a yes?" She nodded, hiding the mask in her own bag. "Awesome. I have to get to work so just meet me there at like midnight. I'll bring the stuff."

When she walked into the control room, it was like being sent to the principal's office for a stern lecture. Caitlin was the only one without disapproval written all over their face.

"Anyone want a milkshake?" she said, hoping to break the heavy tension.

"What was _he_ doing here? That jerkoff almost got you arrested, Beca," Cisco reminded her, as if she had forgotten about her time at the police station. "Why was he bringing you pity fries?"

"First of all, he got me onion rings. Second, what happened at the market wasn't his fault. It was mine. Remember how I can make people do things and I accidentally used my powers on him? I mean, he still thinks it was a bad batch of brownies that made him give me the money but his boss called the cops, not him. It doesn't matter anymore. We're friends"

"Then what is he sorry about? Did something else happen?" asked Barry, curiously. "Does he know about your powers?"

"Nothing that bad, something happened but it's over, and no, he doesn't know about any of my powers. He thinks I just come here to hang out with Caitlin. Do you want to keep interrogating me, Dad? You probably wouldn't have to if I didn't knock out that camera you were using to eavesdrop."

"I just want you to be careful. Technically, you're new to Central City. How much do you really know about him? Cisco said no physical contact and it's obvious that he…well, he—you mentioned before that he likes you." Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Wells's fingers digging into his wheelchair. She crossed her arms over her chest. Caitlin placed her head in her hands to avoid further watching Barry's awkwardness. "What if he tries to…touch…I think you know what I'm saying."

"We're friends, Barry, that's all." She sipped her milkshake. "Should I be worried that you or Cisco will try to shove your tongues down my throat? No? Then don't worry about it with Kyle either. I can handle myself."

Beca's plea for her friends to accept Kyle fell on deaf ears. Caitlin blamed their behavior on _boys being boys_ but even Dr. Wells seemed eager to shove him off the top of the highest building in the city. The only way to distract them from giving her another lecture about the dangers of befriending him, which included Cisco creating a powerpoint presentation about Kyle's 'shadiness', was to purposely misuse her powers to cause a fire, diverting their attention to teaching her better control.

She thought that being able to drain energy from a person was amazing enough but like Wells said, her powers were full of potential. Through more training sessions, they discovered that she could draw power from any source, whether a person or a lightbulb, and turn that energy into literal blasts. Cisco and Caitlin had to fireproof every inch of the lab after an incident where her excitement over blasting the head off a dummy with one of the blasts led to her causing a series of small explosions. Her mind control ability was a different story, requiring much more concentration and effort. She was more successful when she said the commands out loud rather than in her head.

"Scratch your ear," she muttered into her cup of green tea. Damien was sitting across from her in Jitters, reading yet another article about Stagg. "Scratch it."

The tiniest squeal escaped her lips when he briefly scratched his left ear. He glanced up from the newspaper in amusement.

"Did you just make that sound?"

"S—sorry. I um drank a little too fast and the tea burned my tongue." Holding back a smile, she placed the cup down on the table. "Are they any closer to finding Mr. Stagg?"

"Not yet. My friends at the station say they're beginning to believe that vacation theory. A pack of dimwitted oafs, if you ask me."

"Maybe they're right. If he was kidnapped, wouldn't someone be asking for money by now?"

Damien chuckled quietly. "It's adorable when you think you understand such things." She recoiled when his hand rested over hers. His thumb traced the inside of her palm. "This is real life, not a movie. If this madman wants to make some real money, he'll bide his time…wait until Stagg's loved ones begin to lose all hope and beg for his safe return. I suspect it's a matter of days before they send the police one of his fingers."

Stacy, one of the other baristas and the definition of peppy, stopped at the table to refill Damien's coffee. That tiny voice popped up again, the same one that Beca heard when Wells was insulting her, goading her to make Stacy throw the coffee in his smug face.

"Is that how you'd do it, _uncle?_ "

"Thank you," he said to Stacy, who gave Beca a quick wave before heading over to another table. A mischievous gleam flashed in his eyes. "You know the answer to that firsthand, sweetheart. I'm sure you wouldn't want to live through that again. Don't think that by loosening the reins a bit, it gives you the freedom to do as you please. You may find my rules restricting but I only enforce them because it's for the best. You understand that, don't you?"

The crime drama playing on the television sets was interrupted by a breaking news report. Her ears perked up at the mention of Leonard Snart, the lead suspect in yesterday's robbery. The police were offering a reward for any tips on his whereabouts or possible plans. Damien scoffed as the reporter spoke about The Streak stopping the robbery and saving a wounded guard's life.

"People honestly still believe this ruse? It's obviously a—Beca?" She stood halfway up from her chair. "Are you going somewhere? Breakfast isn't over for another fifteen minutes."

"I know. I just have to…I forgot that I promised to work on my genetics assignment with some kids from class. I'm supposed to meet them at the library."

"I'll drive you there."

"No, it's okay. You have that meeting with Dr. McGee and the campus isn't far. I should get going. I don't want to be late." She slung her tote bag over her shoulder and picked up her tea. "I'll take this with me. Good luck with your meeting."

As she walked into STAR Labs, she checked for any sign of Wells, hoping that he was down in the pipeline or still at home (though she was unsure if he actually lived outside the lab). Caitlin was in one of the research labs, peering into a microscope.

"Caitlin, Caitlin, Caitlin," said Beca, shutting the door.

"Beca, Beca, Beca…why are we saying our names three times? I was just observing some of Barry's cells to better understand how they regenerate so quickly." She dropped the slide into one of the labeled containers. "Aren't you supposed to be at breakfast with your uncle? You said he's very strict about his schedule."

"I told him that I had to do meet kids from class for an assignment. Is Wells here?"

"He's on his way now. Cisco's down in the pipeline, giving our poisonous metahuman prisoner some food. I was thinking instead of blasting another dummy to pieces, we could work on—"

"Or we could go after Snart…well, Barry and I can do that."

Removing her gloves, Caitlin shook her head. "No, it's not a we. If anyone is going after Snart, it's Barry alone. Dr. Wells said that you're not ready."

"Ready for what?" asked Cisco, his mouth full of twizzlers.

"To help Barry catch that Snart guy. Cisco, come on. You know I can do this. I'd kick Snart's butt up and down the street. I bet I could even make him drop his gun and dance the hula or something. Cisco's on my side, Caitlin. Join us on this awesome idea."

When she thought up the idea in the middle of breakfast, she never expected Cisco of all people to be against her fighting other metahumans. He held up a finger for each reason that it was a terrible idea: she had no disguise, she had no codename, and Dr. Wells would skin them alive if she went out into the field without his permission. She jumped up and down, repeatedly saying "please".

"Beca—" Caitlin shook her head once more as they walked into the main control room. Beca resorted to her puppy dog pout. "That won't work. This is for your own safety."

"Please, please, please, please."

"No. If Dr. Wells doesn't think you're ready, then I have to agree with him. Snart isn't even a metahuman, which means that Barry doesn't need any extra help."

"I'll give you free Jitters for a year." Cisco was about to agree to the deal until he caught Caitlin's judgmental stare, followed by her hands on her hips. Beca shifted her tactic to just convincing him. "You know, Cisco, I really want to see that new zombie movie that just came out and I was supposed to go with Kyle but he's so busy with work. Maybe you can go with me instead. A dark movie theater…the back row…"

"Beca!" chastised Caitlin.

"If you want to go instead, Caitlin, we can do that. I'm open-minded," Beca said with a wink.

Her pleas were drowned out by Barry's own voice, telling a cute blonde in glasses about the lab. Cisco and Caitlin had met the girl before, judging by their surprised expressions,

"Beca, this is uh Felicity. She's visiting from Starling City for a few days. Felicity, this is Beca, the girl I was telling you about bef—" Barry's cheeks reddened and he nervously tugged on his collar. "I was telling her about you after we were talking about Cisco and Caitlin, not just you alone. I wouldn't just mention you."

"I think she gets it. Hi," said Felicity. She seemed reluctant to shake Beca's hand until Barry assured her that the gloves kept her powers under control. "So you're like Barry. Well, not exactly alike but you have weird powers too. Not weird…did I say weird? I meant cool because having powers does not make you weird."

"Are you guys cousins?" asked Beca, noticing the similarities between them.

"Nope, just friends."

Beca's eyes widened when Barry mentioned that Felicity worked with the vigilante in Starling City, the Arrow. He was quick to dismiss Cisco's suggestion that Barry himself knew the Arrow's identity, his anxious face betraying his denial. A million questions were swirling inside her head.

"The Arrow? As in—like the actual Arrow? Are you serious? That is the coolest thing ever! What's he like? It's definitely a he, right? I don't want to assume—I just…on TV, they don't look like a girl."

Felicity laughed. "Trust me, from personal experience, he is all man. I take it you're a fan? If I knew that, I would've brought him along with me."

"You could still do that. I mean, Starling City isn't that far. No, that would be rude. He's still recovering from all that craziness with the super soldiers and that Deathstroke guy."

"Heh, I didn't realize you knew so much about the Arrow, Beca," said Barry, taken aback by her excitement. "

"Well, before I moved here, there wasn't a lot to do so I'd watch TV in the far—basement." She scratched the back of her ear. "I caught up on what I missed while I was in a coma. All those news reports…he's like the definition of amazing and he doesn't have powers."

"Yep, he's all…muscles and arrows, no powers. Were you guys arguing before?"

Caitlin sighed. "Beca wants to go after Snart with you, even though Dr. Wells expressly forbid her from going out in the field until he says she's ready. Cisco also correctly pointed out that Beca has no disguise to protect her identity."

Digging through her bag, Beca grabbed a baggy black hoodie and pulled it over her head. She raised her houndstooth printed scarf to just below her nose and spun around, giving her own little fashion show.

"Ta-da"

"Ta-da what? What is this?" asked Cisco, baffled by her display.

"My costume until you make me one like Barry's. The Arrow wears a hood all the time so there's not much of a difference. I don't know why I need a codename if Barry and I are the only ones who can hear you through the earpieces but for now, we can use supergirl. I kinda like that."

"No way, nope, no. You can't go running around like you're tagging graffiti in some dark alley."

"Who says I do that?!" she blurted out, earning a suspicious look from all four of them. "C—cause I don't. Who would do that? That's—that's just silly. Tagging? Weird."

"And you can't just take any codename, Beca. Supergirl is better for someone else."

"Energy Bomb. Boom. Get it? Because I can—stop shaking your head. It's not that bad."

"Welcome, Miss Smoak," she heard.

Wells wheeled into the room, causing Felicity to get tongue-tied. After insisting that she call him by his first name, he rattled off several of her accomplishments, aware that she was a tech genius. He looked at Beca for an explanation for her unique attire.

"Were you planning on robbing a train?" She lowered the scarf. "Or am I correct in assuming that you planned on sneaking out with Barry to find Leonard Snart?"

"No, you were right about the train. College is expensive and I need some extra cash. Jitters just isn't doing it," she replied with a straight face.

"Your time will come, Miss Pierce," he said, amused by her quick wit. "There's no need to rush."

"Well, maybe I should just go back to Starling City with Felicity and I can work with the Arrow."

"No!" chorused Barry and Felicity.

"Why would you—believe me, it's a lot more fun to work here, Beca," said Felicity. "The Arrow's not that great. You know that grumpy cat meme? If there was a villain who could somehow turn people into cats, he would turn the Arrow into that one."

Deep down, Beca knew that Wells was right but it was still frustrating. She worried that she would spend months, maybe years, training in the lab.

Around six, she met Kyle and some of his artsy friends outside Jitters for trivia night. She immediately regretted agreeing to join them for a night out when she spotted Barry, Felicity, Iris, and Eddie at a table. It was not just his blatant dislike of her friendship with Kyle but the tiniest bit of resentment she felt that he, along with Cisco and Caitlin, chose to side with Wells that she was nowhere near prepared to fight metahumans. She thought it was unfair that Barry was allowed to go out and save people with little training, just because he could run fast and heal just as quickly.

Seeing her by the door, Iris walked over and greeted her with a friendly hug. "Beca, I didn't know you were coming here too. This is great." She smiled at Kyle. "Hi, I'm Iris."

"Kyle."

"Oh, so you're _Kyle_ ," she said, putting some emphasis on his name.

"Had that name since I was born but keep saying it like that and people here will think I'm royalty or something."

"I've just heard a lot about you from Beca. There's a table by us. Come on," Iris looped her arm through Beca's, leading her towards the table. "He's even cuter in person," she whispered.

The building felt ten times smaller as Barry and Kyle made eye contact and Beca was forced to be within sniffing distance of Eddie. Felicity and Iris were oblivious to the tension, as Iris introduced Kyle to the others. He glanced at their team sign: _E = MC Hammer_ written in black marker.

"Did you come up with that one?" he asked Barry, who nodded before shooting Beca a look that said _This is a bad idea and you know it_. "That's a good one. Not as good as ours but I doubt anyone will ever top it."

His friends, Owen, Tessa, and Lukas, were sitting at the table behind them with their own sign: _A Load of Pollacks_. Iris and Felicity giggled as he explained the meaning of the name, with Owen wanting to honor his home of Essex and his tendency to swear like a sailor.

"To be honest, our other ideas weren't as funny but when Becs came up with it, we were sold."

"Wow, Becs, he's right. It is a good one," said Barry, intentionally mocking him.

"Becs is kind of my thing, actually. I know it's nothing to get all crazy over but—"

"She's a person, not a thing."

"I feel like we're having two different conversations right now. Great meeting all of you. Good luck."

Beca, wanting to avoid explaining Barry's attitude, offered to get the drinks. As she waited for Tracy to finish her order, Eddie stood beside her.

"Interesting…you becoming friends with the guy who almost got you thrown in jail. You forgave him pretty quickly, Beca."

"Forgave him for what? Like I've been telling everyone else, his boss made that call, not him. I have no problem with Kyle but you obviously have one with me, Prince Charming. Spit it out."

"I see through this act of yours," he hissed. "You think you can get away with anything because you look like a sweet girl in a pretty blonde package. I know your type well and I know you weren't the innocent victim that day, just like you weren't on the night of the particle accelerator explosion."

She turned towards Eddie, feigning a smile when she caught Iris looking over at them. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I'm right in thinking you manipulated Kyle Rayner into giving you all that money and you put on your little act when you realized you were caught. You probably did the same to Everett Stone. Joe wanted to keep it quiet but when we found him, Stone was dead in that front seat, chalk white and blood pouring out of his mouth, and there was a bag with tons of cash in the trunk. If you ask me, you planned to kill him then take that cash and go somewhere new, somewhere your uncle couldn't watch you 24/7."

Beca never heard the whole story of what happened the night of the explosion. When she woke up from the coma, Damien told her that the cops, one of them being Detective West, found her alone and unconscious in the car, with Stone presumed missing. She had not bothered questioning if the police were searching for him since she had only known him for the one night. Tracy handed her a tray of drinks and began to help another customer.

"Y—you're lying. I didn't...I would never hurt anyone like that."

"It's only a matter of time before you slip up again and when you do, you'll have to convince a jury next time that you're innocent. I've been looking into you, Beca, and your stories just don't add up."

"Why are you doing that? You can't do that. If my uncle finds out—"

"Before eight, it's like you didn't exist and there are no records of you being in any schools. Public, private, homeschool …nothing. I called your old hometown and they had no knowledge of a car accident in the past year or anyone with the last name Pierce."

"He'll know you were looking. He'll k—stop before…" she muttered, feeling like her heart was beating out of her chest.

"What? If I find out the truth, are you going to do to me what you did to Stone?"

"If you don't stop, I'll tell your boss that you've been harassing me and good luck convincing Iris that you're not a complete jackass. She'll dump you in a flash."

She smacked him in the face with a hair flip and returned to the table, handing out the drinks. Her conversation with Eddie put a damper on trivia night, making it nearly impossible to enjoy herself. Barry kept glancing back at her table, as if he was able to read minds and knew that something was wrong.

"Wow, you're really good this round," said Tessa, impressed. "These shows are from like over ten years ago. How do you remember all that?"

"Just really into cartoons, I guess. I spent a lot of time watching them with my dad. It's a thing we used to do when I was little" Beca overheard Eddie telling Iris that Snart was spotted at the museum where a famous diamond was on display and less than a minute after he left, Barry was leaving with Felicity. Picking up her phone, she pretended to get a text from Damien. "He really wants me at this lame dinner. Sorry."

Kyle looked like he was about to stop her before settling for a small shrug. "Hey, he's family. I get it. I'll text you later."

Hailing a cab, she had the driver stop around the corner from the museum. She sneaked into the nearest alley and put on her makeshift disguise, tying the scarf extra tight to keep most of her face covered.

"Snart!"

Detective West was chasing Snart, a man dressed in a trenchcoat, dress shirt, slacks, and tie who was oddly calm for someone on the run, down the street. Putting on a pair of goggles, Snart pointed his large gun at a cop car that was headed towards him and the blast caused the street to be covered in ice, sending the car careening into a fire hydrant. Detective West was lying on the icy street, having to dive out of the car's way before it flattened him. He continued to pursue Snart inside a nearby theatre and when Beca saw the flash of lightning pass through the doors, she ran in that same direction.

She had just sneaked past the panicked crowd when Snart shot Barry with the same gun, knocking him to the floor. A wound that resembled frostbite was visible on the side of his suit and as a game of cat and mouse ensued, with Snart targeting random people in the theater, she noticed that the wound was affecting Barry's speed. He was not quick enough to save one of the guards, the frostbite covering his entire body.

As Snart redirected his weapon again, this time at a couple in their late twenties, she hurried out of her hiding spot behind one of the pillars and jumped in front of the couple. She flinched when the blast struck her fingertips but instead of freezing her, it was absorbed under her skin. The couple, pale as a ghost and shaking from head to toe, were already out of the theatre before she could tell them to run.

Snart rested the gun on his shoulder. "Well, isn't that a neat trick? The Blur has a little friend. I doubt you're as fast. What do they call you?"

"Your worst nightmare," she said, using a voice changing app to disguise her voice. The icy blast reformed in her hands as a ball of pale blue light. "You're not getting away that easily."

She threw her own blast at him and he barely dodged it, his right sleeve singed. "Now drop the gun, please."

Snart began to loosen his grip on the gun before regaining control. He shot at the chandelier hanging above her head and as she dove to the side, the chandelier, partially frozen, crashed to the floor. She let out a stream of curses when she realized that Snart had vanished from the theatre. Not bothering to chase after him, she checked on Barry, who was still knelt down beside the guard.

"Barry, are you okay? I saw Snart hit you." He winced when her fingers brushed against the wound. She lowered the scarf to below her chin. "That looks bad."

"What are you…you shouldn't be here. It's not safe."

"You're talking to the girl who just saved two lives today and did some damage to the villain. Look at that, not a scratch on me. I'd say that proves I'm ready to help you. We need to get you back to STAR Labs. Can you walk?"

Helping Barry up from the floor, she thought Snart had returned and blasted her with his gun. It would explain why she felt like she was frozen at the sight of Detective West by the doors. Speechless, he pointed between her and Barry.

"You, with the blast and the…" he said, struggling to form a full sentence. "Someone better start talking. What the hell is going on?"

She switched the app on and raised her scarf over her mouth. "You've never met me but—"

"Beca, I know it's you. Turn that off and explain how you did any of that. No, there are a bunch of cops on their way now. We have to get you to STAR Labs. Let's go."

On the way to STAR Labs, Barry and Beca faced a mini interrogation. Barry had only told him that another metahuman was training with him at STAR Labs, not that it was her. Detective West was barely able to understand Barry's super speed so for him, Beca's abilities were out of this world. He wanted Beca to stop by their house after Barry was healed to further discuss the situation ("That means hours of lectures. It'll be a fun night," whispered Barry).

Beca had little time to come up with a cover story for how she stumbled upon an injured Barry but once she stepped inside the main control room, she discovered that it was pointless. Not saying a word, Caitlin turned on one of the giant screens, showing a news report about the incident at the theatre. Several pictures and a video appeared behind the reporter, all showing Beca facing off against Snart. Felicity helped her place Barry on the nearest cot.

"Supergirl/Energy Bomb 1, Snart 0. Yay," she said, weakly.

"What were you thinking, Beca? Have you lost your mind?" Caitlin inspected Barry's wound for any infection. "You don't have super speed to run away from cameras. What if someone recognizes you?"

"Those pictures are blurry and that video is too far away to tell anything. If I wasn't there, who knows what could've happened to Barry? How about someone says a simple 'Thanks, Beca. You kicked ass today'?"

"It was pretty sweet how you stopped the blast," said Cisco, imitating her hand movements. ("Don't encourage her!") He high-fived Beca behind his back. "B—but still a bad idea. Bad Beca."

Caitlin determined that Snart's gun was capable of causing third degree frostbite and if Barry was not capable of healing quickly, the nerve damage could have been permanent. When Felicity questioned how Snart was able to develop such a weapon, Cisco confessed that he had created the gun, as a means to stop Barry in case he was dangerous like the other metahumans. Beca wondered if he developed a similar weapon against her. She decided to ask that question at another time when Barry reacted negatively to the news, accusing Cisco of not trusting him. He stormed out of the room in a huff.

"I think he needs some space. I'm really mad too so I'm just going to go and—"

"Miss Pierce, sit," said Wells, addressing her for the first time since she entered the lab. She sat down beside Cisco, keeping her eyes on the floor. "What did we agree on before we embarked on these training sessions?" (She muttered under her breath) "What was that?"

"That I wouldn't help out Barry until you said I was ready but obviously, I am. Snart could've killed Barry and a lot more people if I wasn't there. I was under control."

"You were reckless. When you jumped in front of that gun, were you completely certain you could contain the blast?"

"Pfft, ye—no," she said, changing her answer when he raised his dark brow. "I went with my gut and it worked out. I know what you're going to say next. Beca, it may not always work out." ("She nailed you, Dr. Wells," said Cisco, stifling a laugh) "Barry doesn't always know what he's doing. Why can't I learn like he does?"

"Because unlike him, you cannot heal a fast rate or run from a bullet. Next time, you need to be more careful."

"Next t—there's a next time?" Beca jumped up from the chair. "I can help out Barry all the time? Really?"

"We'll call it a trial run," he suggested.

"Yes! Now let's see how the internet fell in love with Central City's newest superhero. Maybe someone will come up with the name for you, Cisco."

Together, she and Cisco searched every social media site imaginable for any posts related to her and the showdown at the theatre. The first dozen posts were about Barry and how Snart had managed to hurt him. She wanted to smack the jerk who called Barry 'a worthless hero who needed his mommy to kiss his booboos'.

"Wait, that's a picture of me from when I hit Snart." Her eyes skimmed the caption of the picture. "Nice ass."

"Beca, don't listen to those idiots. For every compliment, a million people will criticize every little thing you do. Even people who aren't superheroes deal with that," said Caitlin, disgusted by the comments agreeing with the poster.

"Everyone at my pilates class on campus tells me that all the time. It's not that bad. Ooh, there's another one."

The fight at the theatre had happened less than an hour ago and Beca was already an internet sensation, rising in popularity with The Streak. She noticed a disturbing pattern as she read post after post. While all of Barry's posts either praised him for saving lives or criticized him for being a freak, most of the posts written about Beca were concerned with her looks, not her abilities. A few trolls (what Cisco called them) mocked her, claiming that she was just a little girl playing dress up. Other posts commented on her body (despite most of her body being covered up), with some having several paragraphs detailing why she was hiding a sexy figure underneath the baggy hoodie. Caitlin urged them to stop reading the sexist posts when Cisco found pictures drawn of Beca, many of them inappropriate.

Barry returned to the room with Felicity, still bitter about the cold gun. "What are you doing?" he asked, bewildered, as Beca balanced herself on the chair with one knee up.

"Trying to prove to Caitlin that this is scientifically possible. People are drawing pictures of me…well, they don't know what I look like but their guesses aren't that bad."

Using his super speed, he browsed through the posts, looking uneasy. "None of these bother you?"

She leaned back on the chair while sticking out her chest. "I mean, they're a little shallow but it's my first hour as a superhero. After they see me save a bunch of people like you do, they won't care if I have a nice rack or not. See, Caitlin? I look just like the picture. It's really uncomfortable but it's possible. Let's try another one." Clicking down the page, she scrunched her nose. "Ew, not that one. How would that even fit in there? I wonder if they draw pictures of you, Barry."

"Heh, I'd rather not find out. I think you proved your point, Blonde Bombshell," he joked, referencing the popular name for her alter ego.

"Joke all you want but it's better than The Streak. What, you don't think it suits me?"

She had just managed to get him to smile when it was wiped from his face as Cisco walked into the lab with his tablet. He figured out a way to track Snart, nicknamed Captain Cold, ("Oh come on! He just showed up and he gets a name? That's it. I'm like two seconds from going online and claiming supergirl" said Beca, throwing her hands up in defeat) through the cold gun. After Felicity used her super hacking skills, they learned that Snart was heading to the train station. A second later, Barry was already suited up and switched off his earpiece.

"I don't really feel like talking. Ready, Beca?"

"Barry, I think it's best if—"

Wells was cut off by Barry scooping her up in his arms. It felt like no time had passed when he placed her down on the ground, just outside the train station.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm gr—my shoes!" She stamped out the small flames on the side of her boots. "I'm good."

"That uh happens sometimes. We'll work on it. Let's get Snart. The cops are already here so don't let them see your face."

Entering the station, they saw Snart disappear onto one of the trains. Barry picked her up again and followed after him, racing past Detective West and Eddie. They landed inside the train, with Beca a little disoriented.

Snart raised the cold gun. "I didn't see you before. Do your mommies know you're out past your bed time?"

"If you wanted to get away, you should've taken something faster than a train," Barry told him.

"That's if I wanted to get away. I've seen your weakness…at the armored car then at the theatre." Snart pointed the gun at the floor. "While you're busy saving everybody, I'll be saving myself."

His gun blasted through the floor, freezing some of the wheels and causing the train to shake violently. Having to think on their feet, Beca offered to chase after Snart while Barry used his speed to save the frightened civilians. She leaped out the closest door and rolled down the side of the hill. Hearing the motor of the cold gun, she rolled deeper into the grass to avoid the blast and stood up, wincing from a scrape on her knee.

"Is this our round two? I doubt you'll be as lucky as last time," said Snart, firing another blast. Beca blocked the blast with her hand. "You're distracted now...worried that your little boyfriend won't survive."

"He's not my boyfriend. Why the hell are you dressed like you're about to climb Mt. Everest, you weirdo? Just put the gun down." Almost immediately, Snart tossed the gun aside. "Good. Now give me whatever you stole and you're going to sit here until the cops c—"

A loud _bang_ rang through the air, followed by a sharp pain in her left knee. She clasped her hand over the wound, trying to stop the pain, the blood seeping through her fingers.

"I always learn from my mistakes. I wasn't sure if you could stop a bullet too." Barry was thrown from the wreckage. "Wait here while I take care of your friend."

Falling to her other knee, she tried to focus her own energy on healing the wound. A surge of energy, like drinking ten cups of coffee at once, shot through her free hand and she watched as the patches of grass dried up around her. The wound in her knee soon healed, showing not even a scratch, and she hurried over to Barry, who was trapped under a patch of ice around his waist.

"You have one second to put that down or I put you down," she said, standing in front of Barry.

"You want a round three, kid? Maybe you can survive a bullet to the knee but to the heart? I'm not so sure."

"Try it, goggles." More than half of the field of grass dried up, creating a ball of energy that was nearly the size of a baby elephant above her head. "Let's see who's quickest."

The corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly and even through the goggles, she could see the hesitation in his eyes. "Be—don't. He's not worth it. Don't stoop to his level," pleaded Barry.

"Drop it."

Cisco, holding a weapon much bigger than the cold gun, was standing behind Snart, with Caitlin and Felicity carrying the rest of the machine. He threatened to shoot Snart with the weapon, a new prototype that was four times as powerful and stood defiantly when Snart called his bluff. Not willing to take the chance, Snart lowered his gun.

"You win, kids. See you around."

As Snart walked away, still in possession of the diamond, Beca contemplated chucking the ball of energy at his back. The voice in her head was telling her to blast him into pieces. She felt the energy slipping through her fingers when Barry moved in front of her.

He gently grabbed her arm. "Beca, let him go. We'll get him next time. The important thing is that we're both okay."

The ball of energy vanished from her hands and the grass around them returned to normal. "You good?"

"I think so." She looked at Cisco. "You could've at least shot him in the leg."

"Couldn't even if I wanted to…this is the STAR Labs vacuum cleaner."

Back at STAR Labs, Wells was relieved to see that neither of them were harmed. Felicity decided to head back to the Starling City and said her goodbyes, promising to bring Beca an autograph from the Arrow when she visited again.

Seeing a text from Damien to wait for him at the Oxford Hotel, a room key waiting for her at the front desk, she changed out of her disguise and fixed her hair in the bathroom, checking that there were no signs of her being in a fight. She texted Damien that she was on her way, dreading that this was a surprise 'business meeting'.

Like she expected, a dress was laying on the bed in the hotel room, along with a note: _Mr. Bard, big customer. Make them happy._ After changing into the dress, she poured herself a glass of champagne and swallowed her usual pills. She sat on the edge of the bed and flipped through the channels, wondering about this latest creep. With her luck, Damien was the one behind Stagg's disappearance, as part of some elaborate game, and Stagg, drunk off his ass, would be the one walking through the door.

Hearing the door swing open, she shut off the TV. "Well, I certainly see why you're worth the most."

Beca tensed up at the sound of the stranger's voice. Thinking it was a bad dream, she hoped to catch their reflection in the window but it was too dark to see much besides the bright glow of the lamp. Her heart raced as she turned to see Wells in the doorway.

"Dr. Wells, do you live at the hotel? You're probably wondering why I'm here," she said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear to hide her little scratch. He shut the door. "My uncle is meeting some people for a fancy business dinner and he sometimes rents out the hotel rooms for his guests. I was just in here to get changed for the dinner. Who would have thought you live here? That's crazy."

"You're getting better with your lies, I see. That was almost believable."

"Lie—I'm not lying. Why would I lie?"

"We both know why you're here. It's to entertain Mr. Bard…except that man doesn't exist. You see, I know all about Damien's underhanded business. He's not very discrete. I do find it ironic that he allows other men to so much as touch someone he loves so deeply. Is it a rush for him? Does he have his own fun when they're done with you?"

She glanced at the door, expecting Damien to burst through any minute and literally throw Wells out the window. The way Wells was staring at her, it was like he had x-ray vision and could see for himself that her heart was beating as fast as a hummingbird's.

"I—I don't know what you mean by that. Of course my uncle loves me. We're family. That's what family does…they love each other. You really need to leave before he comes looking for me."

"You can drop the pretenses, Beca. I knew from the minute I laid eyes on you the night the particle accelerator was turned on…seeing you stand side by side, how he had his arm around you. It's quite obvious but perhaps I'm the only one in this city who isn't a fool. You look nothing alike, not the tiniest bit of resemblance."

"I get my looks from my mom's side of the family. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Perhaps not but Damien never mentioned any relatives, certainly not a brother who died in a terrible car accident. How interesting that you appeared out of nowhere. Isn't that why Detective Thawne's accusations made you so nervous?" ("How did you—wh—you weren't there") "You were afraid that Damien would know Detective Thawne was looking into your past and now you fear the same for me…because then we know the truth that you're so desperate to keep hidden."

"Dr. Wells, you're not making any sense. Were you drinking downstairs? I won't judge. You should probably go to bed and sleep it off or—"

"The truth that Beca Pierce doesn't exist or at least she didn't until fourteen years ago when you were forced to create that persona." Her stomach twisted into a million knots. "That was when your parents truly died, not just last year. They died at the hands of the very man who's had her under his thumb since that very day. Damien Barnett isn't your uncle. He's your captor."


	4. Blackmail

"You think my uncle kidnapped me?" Beca asked, fighting back giggles. On the inside, she was letting out a high-pitched scream that could possibly shatter windows if she opened her mouth. "Wow, I think that bourbon's messing with your head. Not that I know you drink bourbon. You just seem like a bourbon kind of guy."

All it took to shatter her feigned show of confidence was Wells staring at her, his hands folded in his lap. He had not spoken a single word and yet it felt as if he was listing all kinds of damning evidence to support his theory. She struggled to stop herself from even touching the back of her ear, remembering how he believed it to be a sign of a lie.

She glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. "Oh, it's almost nine. I should start heading downstairs. My uncle's all about being punctual. I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing here. It was nice seeing you outside the—"

Before she could turn the handle, her cheek was pressed against the smooth wood of the door and both of her arms were pinned behind her back. Her first thought was that her attacker was an invisible metahuman until she smelled familiar cologne, a scent that she only encountered at STAR Labs. Wells was standing behind her, his fingers digging into her wrists. Beca, at first, thought that he had rigged the seat of the wheelchair to move higher or lower but the wheelchair was at least a foot behind him, meaning he was somehow standing on his own two feet. With all the time she spent around geniuses, she expected some plausible explanation to pop up in her head but nothing was making sense.

"Y—you're not in the wheelchair."

"Very astute observation. I don't believe I gave any indication that this conversation was over." There was a knock at the door ("Miss Pierce, your uncle sent me to check on you. Is everything alright?" she heard, recognizing that the voice belonged to one of his goons) and Wells' grip tightened on her wrists. "Answer him," he hissed.

"Everything's fine, Paul. Mr. Bard just likes it rough."

"He was given clear instructions not to cause any visible damage. Let me talk to him."

The moment the handle began to turn, Beca was suddenly thrown to the floor. Paul, a man who towered over most people and looked like he ate nails for breakfast, entered the room and immediately pointed his gun at Wells.

"Dr. Wells?" His eyes flickered between Wells and the empty wheelchair. "How the hell—"

He was cut off by Wells' hand, vibrating back and forth, piercing his chest. As Wells moved his hand, Paul collapsed to the floor, his lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry it had to come to that, Beca, but I can't have people knowing that chair is all an act. Now, where were—"

Beca silenced him with a swift blow to the head. Leaving Wells and the shattered remains of the vase behind, she dashed out of the room with one goal in mind: find Barry. She waved down a passing cab and jumped into the backseat the minute it pulled over to the curb.

"Out for a fun night?" the driver asked with a smile, seeing her revealing dress in the mirror. "Are you okay, miss?"

She repeatedly locked the door. "Yes. I'm just in a hurry, sorry. I really need to get going."

After telling him Barry's address, she silently cursed herself, realizing that her purse was still in the hotel room. Fear of running into Wells was enough of an excuse for her to use her good looks to get out of paying, something she hated under normal circumstances. She pretended to be listening to the driver, nodding every so often, as he asked about her plans for the night.

"Heading to your boyfriend's place?"

"None of your business."

She jumped when the driver appeared beside her in the backseat, unconscious. Wells was now driving the cab, a trail of blood trickling down the left side of his face. One minute, she was unlocking the door (hoping that she would survive a tuck and roll onto the street) and the next, she was back at STAR Labs, trapped inside one of the holding cells.

"No more running, Beca. If you try that again, I may have to use force and you don't want that," he said, taking off his glasses.

"How are we—you're fast like Barry. Did the particle accelerator give you powers too? Why have you been pretending to be in a wheelchair all this time? What, did you use it so no one could kick the crap out of you for hurting all those people that night?"

"Technically, I had my powers before the accelerator incident. I've been biding my time, waiting for the moment that Barry Allen would get his own speed. I had to keep the timeline intact. Messing with it could have disastrous consequences but you are right. The wheelchair is merely a ruse. Who would suspect me of anything when they think that I can't even walk?"

"So what, now you're going to keep me trapped down here because I know your secret? Damien knows I was in that hotel room. If I don't text him back within the hour, he'll know something's wrong and then he'll go there, find the dead bodyguard, and have his men search the city for me, along with the CCPD. It won't take long for Barry to find the blood stain on the carpet or some skin flakes. He'll figure out that you're a match and then come straight here to kick your ass."

Wells smirked at her from the other side of the glass. He was not the least bit rattled by her grim prediction.

"I've seen you've been paying attention to his CSI babble. For someone who spent more than half her life sheltered, you pick things up very quickly, Beca. I have no intention of keeping you locked in this cell…or killing you. I know that was your next train of thought. You're far too useful to dispose of just yet. Your powers could be the key to getting what I've wanted for a very long time."

"I'd rather die than help you. I'll do it myself if I have to," she said, glaring at Wells. "I know firsthand just how hard to run at a wall to break a bone. Shouldn't be that hard to find out what it'll take to crack my skull wide open."

"Then you'll be doing Damien's dirty work as you've always done. A bit too early, I might add."

Behind her back, she moved her hand in a circular motion, attempting to draw energy from the lights within the cell. She directed her movements to the bottom lights, farthest from his view, to prevent him from discovering her plan.

"What does that mean?" she asked, only partially pretending to be confused.

"You see, Beca, I'm not from this time. I was born many years after you and your friends will be long gone. I traveled back in time to do some quality damage to my foe and in doing so, I ended up stuck here. I already knew Barry and who he would become…how Cisco and Caitlin would shape history themselves with their brilliant minds but you? Not a trace. Just before I traveled back, I was fighting against Barry Allen and his allies yet you weren't among them. Considering how close you've become, I wondered how that was possible. How could I never have encountered you, the stunning blonde with incredible gifts? At first, I thought you simply took your heroics somewhere else but then I found out the truth. You weren't by his side because you have no future."

Reaching into his pocket, Wells held out a small device. A hologram of the front page of _Central City Picture News_ emerged, with a picture of Beca under the headline _Local Artist, 24, Found Dead in Apartment._ After the shocking title, she noticed the date of the article: _July 7, 2015._

"That night, you were going to display your latest work at a gallery. Joe was the one who found your body in the bedroom, stabbed over fifty times with a particularly gruesome cut that went from one ear to the other. The police believed that you had come home in the middle of a robbery and that led to your unfortunate demise. It wasn't the biggest leap, with your apartment torn to pieces, but they failed to realize that nothing was missing. Joe did and he kept up the case for a few weeks but then by some miracle, your attacker was caught. He was a local thief who claimed that you were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was sentenced to prison for your murder, except he wasn't the culprit. Damien was your murderer."

Her eyes skimmed over the article, searching for proof that the actual murderer was mentioned at least once. "You're lying. Damien would never—"

"Because he's in love with you? Call it a crime of passion. I was already familiar with some of his past crimes, ones that he pinned on others, and the photos of your apartment matched them perfectly. Seeing as he was never caught, I don't know the reason but you must have upset him greatly. It's tragic, isn't it? A promising young girl's life ending just when it seems to be beginning."

Wells offered her the chance to prevent that possible future from becoming reality. In exchange for her help with his plans, which likely involved hurting Barry, he would ensure that Damien never had a chance to harm her. He claimed to have a mountain of evidence to implicate Damien in several crimes over the years, including her kidnapping.

The tiniest giggle escaped her lips. "Is this you trying to scare me? You're wrong. How can you kill someone that's already been dead inside for fifteen years? Maybe I provoked him to finally put an end to the suffering he's caused."

"Perhaps I was wrong to show you proof of your impending death. You'd see it as a sweet release from all that torment. I wonder how you'd feel if your dear friend Mr. Rayner suffered a similar fate?" he asked, a malicious gleam in his eyes. Her left hand clenched into a tight fist. "No, that would devastate you. All it takes is a little visit to that convenience store late at night when he's tired from a long day at work, a quick shot to the head, and CCPD would easily believe that he had an unfortunate run-in with one of Central City's less reputable citizens. What do you think of that?"

"I think you're insane."

"I'd like you to consider that I personally have no problem with keeping you locked in this cell, Beca. It wouldn't take much to convince the others that I will take all meals down to the other metahumans and as far as your sudden disappearance, CCPD would never be able to find you. They're too incompetent even with the simplest of cases. Your powers don't work as long as you're inside there and the only alternative is to accept my offer."

Beca's eyes darted around the confined space. Biting her bottom lip, she nodded her head ever so slightly.

"F—fine. I won't tell anyone who you really are and I'll help you…as long as you promise not to hurt Kyle. He has nothing to do with this."

The moment he opened the cell, she had no time to move before he zoomed in front of her. He snatched both of her wrists, any semblance of the Dr. Wells she thought she knew gone. She winced when he tightened his grip on the wrist that had been behind her back.

"You're clever, Beca, but not that clever. Agreeing to my offer just to strike me when the door opened? After all these years of being forced to work for Damien, I assumed you'd be a better actress. Did you honestly think you'd be able to hit me?"

"If you're really as fast as Barry, not a chance. That's why I made it obvious."

A ball of energy emerged from her hand and struck his chin, the blow knocking him up to the ceiling. Once she was outside the particle accelerator, she threw another energy ball at the keypad to seal the doors shut and continued towards the main control room, resisting any urge to turn her head. She stopped halfway down the corridor, abandoning her plan to use the computers to send a message to Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin when she spotted a fire alarm.

Willing to be lectured by the police for a false alarm if it meant that the real Dr. Wells would be exposed, she pulled down the lever. As the alarm blared throughout every part of the lab, a sharp force tugged at her waist and slammed her into the wall.

Wells' arm was firmly pressed against her throat. "I may have the same abilities as Barry but make no mistake, I'm far more advanced. I can do things that he can't even imagine. A simple locked door isn't enough to keep me trapped. I've already called off the fire department. Now, are you ready to cooperate or do I have to bring Mr. Rayner here to make certain that you understand that this is no game?"

A week had passed since that night and his threats were still fresh in her mind. No matter how much she wanted to warn Barry, she felt as if Wells was watching her every move, whether she was in STAR Labs, at home, or even just shopping at a random store. The only reason she kept quiet was Kyle, who Wells could kill at any moment without a second thought and his death would be on her hands. It reminded her of how she felt when Damien first snatched her, threatening to harm her friends if she attempted an escape.

Just looking at Wells, with everything she knew, made her sick to her stomach. It was made even worse by the fact that she was the only one aware of his true nature.

Beca paced in front of the police station, keeping the hood of her coat up in case Wells hacked any nearby cameras. Her gut was telling her to return to campus and continue to keep Wells' secret but there was a fierce determination inside her, one that pushed her to not become a victim again. When Damien kidnapped her, she was too young to fight back and maybe her newfound powers were giving her such confidence but she believed that she finally had a choice.

A police car pulled up to the station and both Detective West and Eddie stepped out, having just left a crime scene. After Wells gave his permission for her to help him against dangerous metahumans, Barry begun texting her about recent crimes with metahumans as possible culprits. The latest was a bombing, which would have been strange enough if it did not seem like the building blew up by itself.

"Detective West, can I talk to you?"

"It's okay to call me Joe, Beca." He indicated the hood covering her face. "What's going on? Are you feeling okay?"

"Avoiding a stalker from my genetics class. I uh was hoping we could talk in private," she said, lowering her voice.

Eddie crossed his arms. "Anything you have to say in front of Joe, you can say in front of me. We're partners."

"Or you can just leave and go check on your Malibu beach house." She reached into her purse and handed Joe a dollar. "De—Joe, please? It's important."

"Eddie and I just have to catch up Captain Singh on what we found at the crime scene and then you and I can go talk in my office or anywhere you want. Come on," he said, leading me up the steps despite Eddie's skepticism.

Inside the police station, Captain Singh was speaking to a grey-haired man, dressed in a military uniform, in his office while two other men, likely in the military themselves, guarded the door. As they left the office, Singh introduced Detective West to the man, General Eiling, and told him that the army was taking over the bombing investigation. Beca suddenly felt a tightness in her throat, unable to shake the feeling that she had met Eiling before. Detective West was curious why the army had any interest in a civilian matter but his curiosity was only piqued more when Eiling claimed that the bomber was part of the military and insisted on taking all of the evidence at that very moment.

"My partner Detective Thawne can get everything ready for you."

"Thank you for your cooperation, detective," said Eiling, his grin more disconcerting than comforting. "I hope I'm not being a bother but we like to handle our own. I'm sure you understand."

"Beca? What's going on?" she heard as Eiling followed Eddie over to his desk. Barry walked towards her, carrying a box filled with evidence from the crime scene.

"Don't know but I don't think it's good."

Detective West, the two armed guards standing beside him, filled Barry in on the army taking over the investigation, subtly hinting his suspicions. Barry, using his super speed, managed to snatch an empty folder, sealed in a plastic bag, from the box as the guards headed towards the elevator.

"You and a few civilians from STAR Labs might want to look into that. If I find out anything here, I'll let you know. Looks like now isn't a good time for a talk, Beca, but you can stop by the house anytime."

Beca left the station with Barry and sneaked into a nearby alley. "You were here to see Joe? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's nothing. Just—I thought he could help me out with this guy who's kind of been stalking me. He doesn't like to take no for an answer and campus security wasn't much help."

"If you want, I could—"

"No, it's not that serious, Barry. I just thought Joe could scare him a little since he's a cop. I can handle myself. You're not the only one with powers, remember?"

"I know that but if it gets worse, you'll tell me, right? We're friends. We have each other's backs."

"Always."

In the blink of an eye, they were back at STAR Labs. Beca tried to take her mind off her failed attempt at exposing Wells by playing a game of solitaire on one of the computers. Her paranoia skyrocketed the second he entered the room at the mention of General Eiling. The two of them had a past working relationship where Eiling contracted STAR Labs to make gene therapy for his soldiers but his real interest was in creating soldiers with mind reading capabilities. Hearing how Wells stopped the program after witnessing Eiling's underhanded methods, it was like a light bulb switched on in her head.

 _It was the first night after her parents were murdered and Damien had her stashed away in a hotel just outside her hometown. She had refused to leave the bathroom, afraid that he planned to kill her next or worse. If she was not on the top floor, she would have taken a chance at jumping out the window and hoping that she survived though a small part of her would not mind if it led to her death._

 _"You haven't eaten all day. I know you're hungry. I can practically hear your stomach through the door. Come out and eat as much as you like and then we can get you cleaned up."_

 _She looked at her reflection in the mirror, with her tear-stained cheeks and the dried blood of her mother all over her floral printed dress. Her ears perked up at the sound of a knock at the door, hoping that it was someone from the hotel staff. It would take less than a minute for her to run out and tell them that she was not his daughter but a hostage and he killed her parents. Listening to his retreating footsteps, she opened the door just a sliver._

 _"I see you got the message. Would you like to come in for a drink?"_

 _"Don't have time for a drink. I just want to make sure it's done."_

 _She was unable to see the man standing out in the hallway but he sounded tough and authoritative. Damien leaned against the door frame._

 _"If it wasn't, I wouldn't have contacted you. As you asked, Tristan and Amelia Kingston are taken care of and the police have no idea they were murdered. They think a tragic fire took their lives, along with their sweet daughter's. I called in a favor to get a body from the morgue to put in her place and I'll call in another to make sure the DNA comes back as hers. It's an open and shut case. I'm curious why you wanted them dead."_

 _"Tristan backed out of a deal he made with me...didn't finish what he promised and I don't need loose ends. What I'm doing has to stay in a very tight inner circle. Where's the girl now?"_

 _"Here. Hasn't left the bathroom since she woke up but she'll come around. She has to eat sometime."_

 _"I'll take care of that. She'll be coming with me."_

 _"That wasn't part of our deal. We agreed that if I got rid of your loose ends, I get to keep her," he said, sounding like a petulant child. "I'm a man of my word and you assured me you were as well."_

 _"Plans change. I'm not going to kill her, if that's what you think. I've got people working on his encrypted files and one of them thinks that she may know more about his work…what he did with it. I've got a meeting to attend to so I'll give you two hours to clean her up, make her look presentable."_

 _Shutting the door, she grabbed a trash bin near the toilet and banged it against the window until the glass shattered. She had barely gotten one leg through the open space, ignoring the pain of shards of glass piercing the back of her thigh, when she was forcefully pulled her back inside the bathroom by the back of her dress._

 _"I assume you learned that trick from your mother. I heard she was quite resourceful," said Damien as she frantically kicked her legs. "If she wasn't so busy protecting you, perhaps she would've lived. Did you hear all that? He wants to turn you into a little lab rat."_

 _"Let me go!"_

 _"Oh, I don't intend on doing that." He glanced up from her frightened face to the shattered window. "And I've just thought of a way to make sure that doesn't happen. We're going to need more blood on that pretty little face of yours but don't worry, I'll keep you safe…always."_

"Beca?"

Caitlin's voice snapped her out of her daydream. "Sorry. I was um thinking about a test I have to study for later."

Barry had left the lab to search for the bomber, Bette Sans Souci, who was a former bomb specialist for the military. He had just managed to find her when his comms disconnected, seconds after a loud explosion.

"Why can't we hear him anymore? Should I go out there? What if she hurt him?"

"He's fine, Beca," said Cisco.

"You don't know that. We don't know anything. All we know is there was a loud explosion and then nothing," she said, anxiously waiting to hear Barry's voice. "Can't you at least track him?"

"There must be a perfectly reasonable explanation for why he's not answering," assured Caitlin. "Barry!"

Beca turned her head at the sound of a loud _whoosh_ and was surprised to find Barry in just a pair of boxer briefs, pulling a STAR Labs t-shirt over his head. She threw her arms around his neck before Caitlin could even ask what happened to him. As he explained how Bette somehow blew up his suit by just touching it (Cisco too freaked out over the loss of the suit to care about another metahuman), his own arms wrapped around her small waist. Wells theorized that Bette was able to turn any object into a bomb through touch.

"I'm okay, Beca. I don't think she meant to hurt me," said Barry as Cisco's rage towards Bette subsided after seeing a picture of her.

Detective West arrived at a lab, wanting to speak with him. Beca quickly darted her eyes to the floor when Wells caught her staring at the detective, then suggesting that she help him down in the pipeline.

"You made an interesting face when I brought up Eiling. Why is that?" He sighed at her silence. "Beca, partners need to have honesty with each other."

"Partners?" she asked, with a scoff. "You're blackmailing me. It's not the same."

"I do wish you'd see things my way because as it stands, I am the only one who can ensure you have a future. You have no hope of stopping Damien without my help. I could ask another way, one that would require a little more force."

She stopped halfway down the hallway, making sure that they were not within earshot of the main control room. "I think he's the one who killed my parents. Damien did it but Eiling might've paid him to..."

"And why would he do that?" he asked, intrigued. "Your parents weren't in the military. From my research, your father was a surgeon and your mother owned a boutique."

"I don't know. I thought he sounded familiar when I saw him at the police station and it didn't hit me until you said his name. The night after Damien kidnapped me, someone named Wade met him at the hotel we were staying at and he sounded a lot like Eiling. He said that my dad backed out of some deal and that's why he wanted them dead. He was going to take me with him because he thought I knew about my dad's work."

"And yet he didn't. How did Damien manage that?"

"He beat me within an inch of my life and then gave me a muscle relaxer. When one of Eiling's men showed up, he said that I had jumped out the window to escape and the fall killed me. I guess Eiling believed it."

It was telling that Wells was more surprised by my father's possible dealings with the military than Damien beating up a child. That painful trip down memory lane was cut short by a text on her phone, reminding her of her shift at Jitters in twenty minutes.

Beca managed to get there with a minute to spare and moved behind the counter, tying an apron around her waist. She began working on a series of orders given to her by Stacy.

"Iris, did Peter move the cinnamon again?" Iris was leaning against the counter, lost in her own little world. "Iris?"

"Sorry, Beca. I was—I've got a lot on my mind. He hid it in the cabinet on the left, like always. You'd think he would change his hiding spot after the tenth time."

She grabbed the cinnamon from the bottom cabinet. "What's going on? Boyfriend trouble?"

"More like Barry trouble. He's on my dad's side about my blog. I've kind of been writing about The Streak."

Beca almost dropped the cup in her hand. After handing it over to Stacy, she feigned surprise, knowing that Iris was completely unaware of Barry's superhero activities.

"Really? That's…isn't it just some gag? Like photoshop or something?"

"No, he's real. I saw him on the night of that bombing, Beca. He saved someone's life. My blog has a bunch of posts about sightings of him around the city. The posts are anonymous so no one knows that it's me. I started writing about his partner too. You know the one that everyone is calling Blonde Bombshell?"

"I think I heard about her, yeah."

"I mean, the name's totally sexist but until someone comes up with a better one or we find it out from her, it's the best I've got. Barry thinks I should stop writing about both of them. I don't get it. Ever since what happened to his mom, he's been trying to convince people of the impossible and now that it doesn't seem so crazy, it's like he's done a complete 180. What do you think?"

"Me? What do I—well, it's…I guess Barry and your dad are worried that writing about those people could put you in danger. What if some criminal reads it and decides to go after you? How long does something stay anonymous? There's always a way to trace it back to you and if something happened, they'd never forgive themselves. It's cool that you're writing about them but I see their point too. I can't tell you what to do but just be careful."

"I will be. Oh, by the way, I found this outside when I was coming in for my shift." She handed Beca a small box, her name written on the top in black marker. "Guess they know you work here. Maybe you've got a secret admirer…like Kyle?" she teased.

"He's not really the anonymous type but if it was him, there's an 85% chance something will pop out of the box. I'll be right back."

Beca headed into the employee bathroom and carefully opened the box. As she reached inside, she pulled out a braided leather bracelet with an infinity pendant. With trembling hands, she tilted the box upside down, expecting a note to fall out but it was empty. Her phone vibrated in the pocket of her jeans.

"Hello?"

"Beca, I found Bette and brought her to STAR Labs but Eiling tracked her there," said Barry. Wells is holding him off while we take her somewhere Eiling won't find her. He said it's safer if you're with us in case Eiling checks the security footage to see who else goes into the lab. Can you get out of your shift? We're waiting around the corner."

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. I'll be out in five minutes, tops," she said, hiding the bracelet in her pocket.

It did not take much convincing for Stacy to let her leave work early. Considering she was a massive germaphobe, the tiniest cough was enough to send her into a panic. Beca found the STAR Labs van parked around the corner and opened the door where Caitlin was sitting with Bette, a redhead in her mid-twenties. Cisco, who was avoiding any glances in Bette's direction, drove down the street.

"Bette, this is Beca. She's another metahuman."

"It's nice to meet you," said Beca, holding out her hand.

Bette looked reluctant. "Probably not a good idea."

"I know the feeling. If I touch someone without these gloves, they could turn into a skeleton but don't worry. We'll be able to help you."

"Are you guys always this optimistic?"

They stopped at an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city. Once they finished setting up the equipment, Cisco placed several items, including a frisbee and a football, on the table to test Bette's abilities. She picked up the frisbee, causing it to emit a purplish glow, and seconds after tossing it in the air, it exploded.

"Her Trauzl rating is around 45," said Cisco, checking his laptop. "That's the same as any plastique. Plastique! Ha, first try."

"Seriously?" asked Beca, wiping the grin from his face. "And you still can't come up with one for me? This is so unfair."

Caitlin was equally unamused by his name choice. As Bette continued to throw random objects, Barry left for another talk with Iris, who was now putting her name on her blog. Beca and the others waited for Wells to message them that it was safe to return to STAR Labs.

"You think Eiling is still there?" she asked Cisco, trying to keep her mind off of the bracelet.

"He could be there all night if he thinks Wells is hiding Bette. It's a big place. Speaking of Bette, you're both girls."

"Cisco, if you just realized that, we might have a problem."

"Say I hypothetically wanted to ask her out. What do I do? If I go all _Say Anything,_ she'll think I'm crazy. That kind of stuff only works in movies. I'm sure plenty of guys have tried to sweep you off your feet."

"Just be yourself and if she doesn't like that, then it's her loss."

"There has to be more than that. Come on, what do they buy you? A car? An island? Two islands?"

"I'm serious," she said with a giggle. "You don't need to be all flashy. Be yourself. You're telling me the girls aren't begging to date a genius like you?"

"You know I've been thinking it for a while but now I know you're definitely crazy."

The team's hope to help Bette were dashed by Caitlin's findings. After the particle accelerator explosion, the shrapnel in her body had merged with her cells, making it impossible to reverse her powers and give her any semblance of a normal life. Beca was willing to give Barry's suggestion of making her part of the team a chance but the others disagreed, considering her powers too dangerous. She argued that her powers were just as dangerous and if she could find a way to use them to help people, Bette could do the same.

Beca slid into the backseat of the car parked outside her apartment building. She had not gotten any sleep, stressing out over Bette and the mysterious gift left for her at Jitters.

"Why do I need to get driven to school?"

"You know not to ask questions," said one of Damien's goons in the driver's seat. "When he wants something done, I do it. It's temporary. Are you ready to go?"

"Su—"

She spotted a text from Cisco, warning her that Bette was on her way to confront Eiling and she needed to help Barry. He sent her the location of the military's base in Central City.

"We need to stop somewhere else first."

"My orders were to take you to school, that's all."

She moved up to the passenger seat and grabbed his chin, gazing directly into his eyes. "You're taking me to the waterfront and then leaving. If Damien asks, you drove me to campus and that's all you remember. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Then drive."

On the way to the waterfront, she changed into her makeshift disguise, still waiting on Cisco to finish her suit. Barry was waiting for her at the edge of the waterfront, where military jeeps were parked and Bette was facing off against Eiling and his men.

"What if he tells someone that you're—he saw your disguise," he said, watching the car drive back towards the city.

"I used my powers to make him forget. What's the plan?"

"Stop Bette from hurting anyone and bring her back to STAR Labs. I'll keep her away from Eiling. Blast away their guns so they don't shoot her."

They jumped at the sound of several explosions. Dark smoke billowed around the jeeps and a determined Bette walked towards Eiling, who was laying on the ground. As Barry moved in front of her, pleading to not hurt anyone, Beca used small energy blasts to knock any guns away from the soldiers then moved her hands back and forth to clear away the smoke. Eiling suddenly shot at Bette, hitting her in the chest.

Kneeling beside her, Barry removed his mask. "I'm gonna get you back to STAR Labs."

"Barry, Dr. Wells…he…" '

Beca wondered if she learned the truth about Wells, just like her, but she never got an answer. "Can you try to get out the bullet? Maybe if you touch her, you can heal her wound and that'll be enough until we get her back to the lab."

"I can try," she said, reaching for Bette's shoulder. Her body began to emit a purplish glow, similar to when she turned objects into explosives. "I don't think we have that much time. What's happening?"

Realizing that she was about to detonate, he asked the team what to do with her body. The plan was for him to dump her body in the middle of the lake to prevent the explosion from destroying the city but if he was not fast enough, the blast would kill him.

"Wait here. I'll be back."

"Barry, wait. There has to be a way that I can help. What if you can't outrun the blast? You'll—"

"We don't have time to come up with another plan. I'll be fine."

He sped into the lake, carrying Bette's lifeless body. Not willing to take any chances, Beca waded out into the water.

"Beca, what are you doing?" said Caitlin, the panic in her voice ringing through the earpiece.

"Giving Barry more time."

"Miss Pierce, you are getting dangerously close to the blast radius. Even at the edge, the force alone could damage your body beyond repair. Get out of the water now," said Wells.

"Barry and I are a team. We have each other's backs. I'm not letting him do this alone."

Wells was interrupted by a blast in the lake, sending water gushing high into the air. Just as the water came crashing back down, Barry already beginning to run back towards the shore, a ring of water dispersed from the site of the blast, nipping at his heels.

"Beca, please get out of the water!" begged Caitlin.

Bracing herself, Beca placed her hands in front of her. "Come on, this'll work," she muttered.

A burst of energy emitted from her hands then split in half, surrounding the entire shore in a partially visible shield. Barry scooped her up once he was within reach and brought them safely back to the shore, the energy shield holding back the blast. His head leaning against her stomach, he panted heavily.

Less than an hour after returning to STAR Labs, they discovered that Eiling was already running damage control. He passed off the explosion as nothing more than a underwater weapons testing.

"You put on a really good act," said Beca, following Wells out of the room as Barry left, guilt-ridden over Bette's death. "I almost believed that you were sorry about Bette."

"Excuse me?"

"They're not even questioning why she would suddenly decide to confront Eiling like that but I heard her. She said your name…she was going to tell Barry something about you and I bet it was that you're a manipulative psychopath. You convinced her to go after Eiling. Why?"

"I'm afraid you're wrong, Miss Pierce. I said nothing of the sort. Perhaps it was her own twisted way of seeking justice for what happened to her."

"You're lying. You wanted her to kill him. Why? Because if he knew that you had been hiding Bette, then he'd probably find out about Barry and me and that would ruin your plans. You let an innocent person die all to protect your own selfish interests."

He clasped his hands together, resting them in his lap. "True but you should be thanking me. As I've said, Wade Eiling is a dangerous man and we do not want to make an enemy of him. If he learned the truth about you and Mister Allen, what do you think he'd do? He'd capture you and turn you into weapons, just as he planned to do with Miss Sans Souci, and likely force Cisco and Caitlin to help him since they know all about your abilities. His experiments would be far from kind and you'd be wishing that you were back with Damien. I did you a favor."

"Don't act like you did the noble thing. You don't give a damn about anyone but yourself. You're a monster just like him and someday, I'll find a way to expose you and this little game of yours will be over."

"Beca! You coming?" shouted Cisco.

Before joining them at the bar to help comfort Barry, she decided to stop by her apartment, fearing that Damien knew that she skipped her classes for the day. She was relieved when he left her a voicemail that he was stuck in meetings all day and quickly changed out of her wet clothes and into a pair of skinny jeans and a black tank top with a lace back. Fixing her hair in the bathroom, her phone vibrated, with a call from Barry.

"Hey, are you on your way? You're missing out on Caitlin trying to get me drunk."

"Yeah, just trying to fix my hair. Not every day you stop a human bomb from destroying an entire city and your really fast friend."

"I'm sure you look great." Beca heard the door creak behind her. "You there?"

"I'm leaving now," she said, conjuring a ball of energy in her hand as she tiptoed out of the bathroom. She checked every inch of her apartment but there was no sign of an intruder. "Don't let them get started without me. Tell Cisco I'm—"

A searing pain coursed through her, like being struck by lightning ten times. She collapsed to the floor and before everything went black, the last thing she heard was Barry calling out her name.


End file.
